When Jo Devereux returns to Ireland for her mother's funeral, the last person she expects to meet there is Rory O'Donovan.
The secrets and silences between Jo's family and Rory's was the one constant of their childhood -- and erupted into bitter conflict when they fell in love.
Now, 20 years on, Jo is back in village where they both grew up and he's urging her to stay on.
To her own surprise, she's tempted. Is it because her life in San Francisco is such a disaster since her friend Richard died? Because she wants to rekindle the relationship with her mother gone? Or because she wants to know the truth about the past?
Soon Jo is uncovering astonishing truths about her mother and grandmother and women's role in the conflict known as "The War of The Brothers." And about a killing with consequences that have ricocheted through four generations.
Rory, mired in an unhappy marriage, is urging her to rebel again -- but reading their family histories has made Jo cautious. Rebellion has an energy that sweeps people up but what happens after the rising?
Jo is about to find out.
After the Rising is a compelling literary mystery. It is the first novel in The Irish Trilogy.
Praise for Orna Ross and The Irish Trilogy
"A highly ambitious, engaging and evocative novel and a hauntingly captivating read." - Sunday Independent
"The sort of massive book you could happily curl up with for the entire winter, an impressive canvas interweaving a contemporary story of love, emigration and loss with the complex world of civil war politics, emerging women's rights and buried secrets. It explores the influence of our families on who we later become, in literary, lyrical language, while still being a captivating read." -Irish Independent
"The writer has taken on a tough job - interweaving past and present and making them strike fire off each other... [and] has made brilliant use of original sources, including local historians in Wexford, adding the icing on the cake." -Evening Herald
"Epic sweep...ambitious scope... an intelligent book." - Sunday Tribune
"A riveting story...vividly brought to life." - Emigrant Online
About the Author: Orna Ross writes novels, poems and the 'Go Creative' books. She is founder and Director of the Alliance of Independent Authors.
