Rural return for Felicity in her first novel
AUTHOR FOLLOWS UP HER WORK ON WOMEN OF 1916 WITH NEW FICTION
AUTHOR Felicity Hayes-McCoy has delved into her family history in Enniscorthy in previous books but with her latest release, she has decided to turn over a new leaf.
‘ The Library at the Edge of the World’ is the Dublin-born author’s latest offering and her first attempt at writing a novel. Since its release at the beginning of June, Felicity says she has received a ‘wonderful’ response from readers both at home in Ireland and in the UK.
‘It has been promoted as a feel-good summer reading book. Others are saying that it is “perfect for fans of Maeve Binchy” which is so amazing,’ she said. ‘I’m so delighted that it is going well.’
‘ The Library at the Edge of the World’ tells the story of Hanna Casey, a local librarian who has returned to the West Coast of Ireland after life didn’t go too smoothly for her in the UK. It deals with a woman’s search to regain independence by reintegrating into a community, which is spurred on when she and the locals discover that their beloved library is under threat.
The new novel is littered with various influences from Felicity’s own life. Having been born in Dublin and spent much of her childhood between her ancestral homes of Enniscorthy and Galway, Felicity grew accustomed to living in a small community where everyone knows their neighbours. She lat- er decided to move to England, where she carved a name for herself as an actress and later as a writer in London’s bustling arts scene. However, the urge to return home won over in the end and she eventually decided to return to Ireland and set up again in Dingle.
Through her experiences in both London and rural Ireland, Felicity was inspired to write a book that gives ‘a strong sense of two different places’.
The book is a much lighter creation than Felicity’s previous book ‘A Woven Silence’ which was based loosely her families involvement in the 1916 Rising.
‘It was prompted by the fact that my granny’s cousin Marion Stokes flew the Irish flag in Enniscorthy after the Rising,’ she explained. ‘It is not Marion’s story, but the story of so many women. It is about how my and my mother’s generation of women did not inherit the same aspirations for women that are enshrined in the Proclamation.’
Despite Marion’s key involvement in the Rising in Enniscorthy, Felicity said she never spoke to her about it.
‘Marion lived until she was 87 and I knew her well but she never talked about it,’ she explained. ‘ This was a generation of women who would not talk. I think it is one of the reasons for the level of inequality in Ireland today.’
‘I always knew deep down that she had been involved in the Athenaeum. But these were things people didn’t want to talk about. We went through it without the knowledge and exploration that we have going on now.’
Felicity will make her own return to Enniscorthy on June 30 when she launches her latest book in the library at 7 p.m.