#BookReview Dublin’s Girl by Eimear Lawlor @Aria_Fiction

Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Dublin’s Girl by Eimear Lawlor. My thanks to Vicky at Aria for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my digital review copy via NetGalley. Dublin’s Girl was published as an ebook on 28th January and will be available in hardcover in April.

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About the Book

1917. A farm girl from Cavan, Veronica McDermott is desperate to find more to life than peeling potatoes. Persuading her family to let her stay with her aunt and uncle in Dublin so she can attend secretarial college, she has no idea what she is getting into. Recruited by Father Michael O’Flanagan to type for Éamon de Valera, Veronica is soon caught up in the danger and intrigue of those fighting for Ireland’s independence from Britain.

The attentions of a handsome British soldier, Major Harry Fairfax, do not go unnoticed by Veronica’s superiors. But when Veronica is tasked with earning his affections to gather intelligence for Sinn Féin, it isn’t long before her loyalty to her countrymen and her feelings for Harry are in conflict. To choose one is to betray the other…

Format: ebook (278 pages)                    Publisher: Aria
Publication date: 28th January 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

Find Dublin’s Girl on Goodreads

Purchase links
Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

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My Review

Published to coincide with the centenary of the end of the Irish War of Independence in 1921 and inspired by real life events, the book transports the reader to the city of Dublin in the wake of the Easter Rising in 1916, a troubled period of Ireland’s history.

I enjoyed witnessing Dublin through Veronica’s eyes. With its grand hotels, tearooms and picture houses it’s a far cry from the countryside where she grew up. If you’re familiar with the city, I’m sure you’ll be able to follow Veronica’s travels in your mind’s eye. As vividly conveyed by the author, it’s a city where wealth resides side by side with extreme poverty, poor housing and children scrabbling for scraps in alleyways. Furthermore, hanging over much of the population is the threat of arrest – or worse – by British forces.

Thanks to her shorthand and typing skills, Veronica gets to rub shoulders with some of the key figures in the fight for Irish independence, in particular Michael Collins. It’s a role not without danger because of the frequent raids on the Sinn Féin offices, although Veronica has already demonstrated her courage and commitment to the cause earlier in the book. Like Veronica, the reader gets to witness key events such as Sinn Féin’s victory in the 1918 election, the establishment of an independent parliament (the Dail Eireann) and, eventually, the birth of the Irish Free State.

The historical aspects of the story I found especially interesting, filling in many gaps in my knowledge of Irish history during this period.  The relationship between Veronica and Harry, while touching and heartfelt did seem to rely a fair bit on coincidence – or perhaps it was fate? And I had my doubts about how useful the few bits of information Veronica gleaned from Harry over tea and scones would have been. However, Harry’s more enlightened view of the Irish people’s situation made an interesting counterpoint to the attitude of other British soldiers. It was certainly easy to understand Veronica’s conflicted feelings. “She wanted to be repulsed by him, she wanted to hate him, but she felt herself becoming comfortable in his company.” No doubt the handsome Harry’s broad shoulders and ‘chiselled chin’ helped a bit!

As they find themselves on opposing sides of a conflict, can there be a place in Veronica’s life for Harry, her ‘guardian angel’? You’ll have to read the book – and its touching epilogue – to find out.

In three words: Dramatic, emotional, engaging

Try something similar: The Girl From Vichy by Andie Newton

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About the Author

Dublin’s Girl is Eimear Lawlor’s first novel and is inspired by the true story of her aunt who typed for Éamon De Valera. She lives with her family in Kilkenny. (Photo credit: author Facebook profile)

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