The Tavern on Maple Street [Audio CD]

Sharon Owens (Author), Caroline Winterson (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2006

Caroline Winterson, an experienced narrator, has performed on stage, television and film in both the United States and Ireland. Her off-Broadway credits include Colleen Bawn, Maiden Voyages, Angel, Down The Flats, and Layboy of the Western World.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Ah, there's nothing like a quiet pub to soothe a man's soul, and the ramshackle old tavern tucked away at the end of Belfast's historic Maple Street is a tranquil haven, not only for its loyal regulars, but also for proprietors Jack and Lily Beaumont. But when a real-estate developer announces plans to raze the pub's neighborhood and put up a shopping mall, Jack and Lily realize they have only a few months left to make their business as profitable as they can before their way of life is destroyed. When Lily hires four young lasses to serve as bartenders (and magnets for eager young male customers), their life turns upside down. Creating a microcosm of Irish society within quirky Belfast neighborhoods is Owens' stock-in-trade (her previous novels include The Ballroom on Magnolia Street, 2005), and the denizens of Maple Street represent her most charming creations yet. Owens clearly knows, and loves, this city and these people. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

A bestselling author in Ireland, Sharon Owens was born in Omagh in 1968. She moved to Belfast in 1988, to study illustration at the Art College. She married husband Dermot in 1992 and they have one daughter, Alice.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition (February 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593160720
• ISBN-13: 978-1593160722
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #930,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't give this book enough stars., May 15, 2006

By 

Tonya Speelman "Hoarder of books" (Goldendale WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Tavern on Maple Street (Hardcover)

This book is worth 10 stars. I love each of these books. Ms Owens does a fantastic job of building such intense, lovable characters there is no way you could put the book down until complete.

We start out with Lily and Jack who inherited the Tavern on Maple Street. However, a builder wants to come in and tear it all down to build a mall. Lily and Jack decide to go down and flames. They hire four barmaids and host a ton of Christmas parties and a craft make-n-takes. They never had children and haven't really shared each other much with others. Will they make it through and be able to save the tavern, or should they make plans to live elsewhere?

Read and find out! This is a book that will have you to the end!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming third book,, May 17, 2006

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tavern on Maple Street (Hardcover)

I recently discovered Sharon Owens' books, based in Belfast centering on ordinary people's lives. The Tavern on Maple Street opens on the possible destruction of Beaumont's Tavern, a tiny Victorian era tavern tucked away in the heart of Belfast. Jack and Lily Beaumont have run the tavern pretty much the same as it has always been run, drinks and sandwiches. Living and working at the tavern, Lily and Jack are able to remain engrossed in each other as well as their own world, safe from the pulls of outside life. It is a haven for the regulars, and overlooked by the bright young things in search of the newest martini and available men. The city planners give the OK for developer Vincent Halloran to build a big mall, provided he buy out all the businesses on the proposed area, including Beaumont's. Jack and Lily face the end of their magic little world until Lilly decides to see what happens if the tavern moves into the modern world. Facing the pressure of neighboring businesses who sell at fantastic prices and short of finding bones in the yard, it looks as though Beaumont's is going to be sold and torn down. Lily is frantic to find a solution. She hires several barmails and introduces live music and offers craft Saturdays. Suddenly, more of Belfast is arriving at Beaumont's door.....but at what price? Jack is sure Lily has taken on more than she can handle, and secretly Lily is, too! The barmaids bring their own set of problems, Bridget is so accident prone she threatens to bring the tavern's lining quarters down around their ears. Daisy is immetrsed in her school studies and has no patience for Trudy's neurosis and allergies, real of imagined. Marie is so shy that she threatens to fade into the wall. How Jack and Lily manage to keep Beaumont's afloat as they face down Victor and keep all the new help from destroying each other and the tavern is a delightful romp. The real magic in this book is characters who each have a distinct personality and engage the reader. There were mant times in the book I wished I could just give Bridget a swift kick, i was so vexed by her behavior! The regulars rally around and the changes seem to be bringing a new life to the tavern, but is it too late? Jack and Lilly are at last offered a way to save the tavern as well as a option to move back into "real Life" by one of Bridget's accidents. Another real delight!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tense deep character driven drama, February 4, 2006

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tavern on Maple Street (Hardcover)

In Belfast Jack and Lily Beaumont fell in love from the moment they met in 1984, but were so poor she could not afford a winter coat. Both felt then and still do that a miracle occurred when he inherited Beaumont Tavern from his grandmother's brother though all their relatives dumped them out of either jealousy or opposition to their relationship. They have lived in love there for two decades while the relatively small in size when compared to most of the city's bars Beaumont Tavern remains popular amongst the locals who frequent the Victorian modeled edifice.

Now the government wants to renovate Maple Street tearing down the historical Victorian-gothic edifices and replacing them with a large mall. The couple initially refuses to sell, but the contractor Victor Halloran is a capable nice person making a more than reasonable offer that would allow the Beaumonts to retire. The government pressures the couple threatening eminent domain if they fail to agree to Halloran's kind offer. However, Jack and Lily hesitate as they have had loyal customers for two decades plus this has been their life together.

Sharon Owens third contemporary Irish fiction novel is a stunning tale in which the decisions between urban renewal vs. heritage are difficult and realistic for everyone, making for a tense deep character driven drama. Neither Victor nor Jack and Lily are bad people and they negotiate in good faith though that does not lessen the impact of to sell or not to sell for that is the question. THE TAVERN ON MAPLE STREET is an excellent modern day story that fans will marvel over the simplicity of the plot yet relating a complex societal issue.

Harriet Klausner