"Saga of an Irish couple building their life and family"
Set primarily in upper New York State in the year 1863,
SARATOGA SUMMER tells the story of Sinead and Connor
O'Malley. She is a feisty woman, born in Ireland, whose
father, Bowes Brennan moved her to New York City after her
mother was killed by a horse in an accident on the O'Malley
horse farm. As a child, Sinead loved horses but the
accident has left her fearful of the creatures. Connor, who
was only ten at the time of the accident, barely remembers
the beautiful little girl. Twenty years later, Connor's dad tells him and his brothers
that due to an old debt, one of the brothers must marry a
widow with a child in America. Connor loses the lottery for
this and he and his brother Egan set sail. There they meet
the now grown Sinead, although the family of her adopted
son insists on calling her Jane. Sinead and Connor don't
get along at first, or for that matter, later. Their
wedding night isn't spent in the same bed and it seems
their marriage, which was intended to be at least
consummated, might never even manage that. Being a horse
lover, Connor doesn't understand why his new wife might
have such a problem with the animals. All of this is taking place when the Union army was
conscripting the Irish workers for the Civil War. The draft
was no more popular then as it was in the late nineteen-
sixties, and the workers in New York responded with riots
and by burning down the houses of the rich, including
Sinead's New York relatives. She and her son, Robbie, flee
the destruction with the help of her father and new
husband, Connor. They make their way to Saratoga Springs
where Bowes owns land and a house fashioned after the
O'Malley home. Once they are in upper New York things improve. There is a
racetrack under construction and Connor quickly builds a
true horse farm on the Brennan property. He dreams of
returning to his family farm in Ireland, but is torn by
loyalty to the wife and child he has acquired in America.
Meanwhile, Sinead must overcome her fear of horses, her
concerns about her husband, and get her son's true
grandparents to give her custody. How all this is finally
dealt with is the story of SARATOGA SUMMER. Review for eBOOKISLE.com by Janet Miller
Reviewed by Janet Miller
Posted September 24, 2002
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