Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show: A Novel of Ireland
Delaney pulls out all the stops as he tips his hat to two great and all but indistinguishable Irish traditions: the theater and politics. Readers will be enchanted as the author spins a tale so glib, so charming, and so amusing that—begorrah—you can almost imagine him slyly winking as he kisses the Blarney Stone. Set in Ireland in the politically tumultuous 1930s, this rollicking tale, chockfull of Irish wit, superstition, and sentiment, features a larger-than-life cast of suitably eccentric characters. When 18-year-old Ben McCarthy, is dispatched by his mother to fetch home his wayward father, he embarks on an odyssey so wonderfully strange, all-encompassing, and ultimately tragic that it will effectually define his entire life. After Papa McCarthy, a staid and gentlemanly soul, does something as wildly out of character as fall for a beautiful and charming young actress, Ben, too, is irresistibly drawn into the giddy orbit of Venetia Kelly and her Traveling Show. Ben’s bittersweet story plays out against a backdrop of political corruption, personal greed, and high unexpected romance. Expect high demand for this ideal book club selection. --Margaret Flanagan