Fool's Sanctuary (G. K. Hall Nightingale Series Edition) [Large Print] [Paperback]

Jennifer Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1989 | Series: G. K. Hall Nightingale Series Edition

World War I is over, but the war in Ireland is just beginning. It seems very remote to Miranda Martin, who thinks of nothing but the future during the Indian summer. Then Andrew, her officer brother, comes home, bringing eccentric, likeable Harry. As the summer fades, the scene is set for tragedy.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Termon by the Irish sea is the great house in which Miranda and her detached father believe they and those they love will always be sheltered. The time is post-World War I, and for 18-year-old Miranda the idyll is shattered irreparably when her lover, Cathal, a working-class university student who is a member of the IRA, and her brother, Andrew, a cynical British Army officer, meet at Termon. The inevitable sacrifice of Cathal to save Andrew from an IRA set-up is foreshadowed in achingly terse dialogue. The violent act that leaves Miranda forever bereft is recalled in the opening scenes, when, on her deathbed, she remembers herself as a woman who has "known the embraces of no man." In elegant, evanescent prose Johnston (How Many Miles to Babylon and Shadows on Our Skin) enters the private agony of those destined to experience the stark romanticism and tragedy of the Irish.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As she lies dying, Miranda Martin relives the events of a traumatic weekend in her 18th year. At the close of World War I, her brother Andrew, a British army officer, returns to the Irish estate where Miranda and her father live. Here Andrew confronts Miranda's lover, Cathal, a university student and IRA member. The orders Cathal receives from his organization make him realize too late that abstract ideals can translate into bloodshed. The complexity of the characters' relationships and the emotional tension of the narrative are heightened by the book's brevity. Readers not only observe the complexity of Irish political loyalties and conflicts, they experience the futility of wasted lives and shattered dreams. Kathy Piehl, Mankato State Univ., Minn.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: G K Hall & Co (June 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0816146888
• ISBN-13: 978-0816146888
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,980,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a haunting novel of love and loss, November 11, 2001

By 

Tom Hamilton (South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fool's Sanctuary (Mass Market Paperback)

Jennifer Johnston reminds us of the waste and regret that comes from love in inopportune times, in places where greater forces of emotion and hate are at play. Ireland after 1916 was a place of reawakened pride and passion. Those who existed in the previous order saw little place for themselves in the country about to be born. Johnston captures that sense of opportunity lost, for Miranda and, indeed, for the whole country. Living in South Africa today, it seems so familiar. A beautifully written book.