Winnie’s development, both emotionally and politically, is interesting. From a family of six children, she is the only one living at home with her parents. (Home is just two rooms but in a well-maintained property, unlike the tenements that many families lived in at the time.) Winnie’s parents are ambivalent about religion and appalled by the violence that is rife in Dublin. I learnt so much about this topic in school and it’s commonplace that the people of Ireland know what went on over 100 years ago. How so many brave and loyal people fought for what they believed was right and without them Ireland would not be in the position we are in today. Sheila O’Flanagan has shone a light on this time with a detailed and informative story. One which will help readers new to the topic become familiar with the struggle and for those of us that already know all about it she really has encapsulated the daily fear the citizens of Ireland went through and how at the times people were firmly divided as to what side they were on.

A stranger in need - would you invite them into your home? The electrifying new thriller from Holly Seddon. The writing is gritty and exciting, constantly leaving you wondering what is going on and who these people really are! I said from the get go that I was trusting no one and I’m glad I didn’t 🤣As she is driving despite the poor visibility she still spots a woman standing on a bridge she is approaching, the woman is clinging on to the steel girders wearing a wedding dress, drenched from the pouring rain, and barely hanging on. Charlotte abruptly stops her car and jumps out. Without any thoughts about her own safety she climbs onto the bridge extending her hand to coax the woman down. The woman grabs her hand just in time. This is the beginning of a new friendship with Maggie, who tells Charlotte of the events of that day, she was going to marry a man called Mike, but halfway through the ceremony a man known as David, who she claimed had been stalking her, had stopped the ceremony, he claimed that Maggie loved him and he had proof. The groom along with her mother had all abandoned Maggie, which is why she ended up on the bridge. Munch was one of a number of exceptional portrait artists in Europe at around this time. In Austria you will find Gustav Klimt, an artist whose style was related, but also different in some ways. He also liked to use the beauty of the female body with his paintings, as shown with the likes of The Kiss, Judith with the Head of Holoferne and also Emilie Floege. Both Klimt and Munch would use expressive techniques, but the latter tended to use much less detail and concentrate more on creating an atmosphere within his work. Both are now considered amongst the most famous artists in history, and left behind two huge collections of work across a variety of different artistic disciplines. Munch himself found certain models that he would use again and again but in the case of the painting before us here, The Women on the Bridge, he would only have worried about the lady standing closest, as the others have their heads turned away. Loving Sheila’s previous modern day books, I was keen to read this being a lover of history and knowing this was one of her first works into this genre.

Joseph's family hide fugitives and transport guns and ammunition round the city. When it is announced that Joseph and Winnie will be getting married, they expect Winnie to become more involved with the movement. On the worst night of ger life, in the middle of nowhere, lonely Charlotte Wilderwood saves a runaway bride from from falling to her death. Soon Maggie is staying at her home safely hidden from the man she was desperate to escape. The immediate bond between the women eclipses anything they've ever known and before long they will go to extreme lengths to protect each other. But is Maggie the best friend Charlotte had always dreamed about, or the nightmare she never saw coming.... As a child I enjoyed reading and telling stories and everyone thought that I end up in a job which had something to do with books and literature. But though I applied for a job in the library all of the job offers I got were in commerce. Just how understandable is it when a fight for freedom from British rule morphs into a devastating civil war? A war where friend turns on friend, where even families are divisive in their principles and their beliefs. I love historical fiction and it was so refreshing to read some of Ireland's history, which I really found eye opening. The writing was written in a style that allowed the reader to become engrossed and provided emotion throughout.I’ve been a fan of Sheila O’Flanagan’s for years and I had very expectations for her debut historical novel and I was not disappointed. The Woman on the Bridge is a brilliantly written, beautifully atmospheric and compulsively readable historical novel that will break your heart and prove absolutely impossible to forget. The prose is polished and rich. The characters are passionate, driven, and endearing. And the well-paced, compelling plot is a wonderful mix of familial dynamics, drama, emotion, self-discovery, secrets, revelations, love, loss, heartbreak, courage, duty, grief, passion, and conflict. Overall, I knew I'd love this as I've loved all the authors previous books. It's well written, the premise is excellent and the plot is a fast paced, never a dull moment, exhilarating read in my opinion. It's an easy 5 stars for me!