Blog Book Tour | “Beyond Derrynane” by Kevin O’ Connell

Posted Monday, 23 January, 2017 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “Beyond Derrynane” direct from the author Kevin O’ Connell in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Blog Book Tour | “Beyond Derrynane” by Kevin O’ ConnellBeyond Derrynane
Subtitle: A novel of Eighteenth Century Europe

Wed in an arranged marriage to a man nearly fifty years her senior, sixteen-year-old Eileen O’Connell goes from being one of five unmarried sisters to become the mistress of Ballyhar, the great estate of John O’Connor, one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Ireland.

When O’Connor dies suddenly seven months into their marriage, Eileen must decide whether she will fulfill her brother’s strategic goals for her family by marrying her late husband’s son.

Headstrong and outspoken, Eileen frustrates her brother’s wishes, as, through the auspices of her uncle, General Moritz O’Connell of the Imperial Austrian Army, she, along with her ebullient elder sister, Abigail, spend the ensuing richly-dramatic and eventful years at the court of the Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna.The sisters learn to navigate the complex and frequently contradictory ways of the court–making a place for themselves in a world far different from remote Derrynane. Together with the general, they experience a complex life at the pinnacle of the Hapsburg Empire.

Beyond Derrynane – and the three books to follow in The Derrynane Saga – will present a sweeping chronicle, set against the larger drama of Europe in the early stages of significant change, dramatising the roles, which have never before been treated in fiction, played by a small number of expatriate Irish Catholics of the fallen “Gaelic Aristocracy” (of which the O’Connells were counted as being amongst its few basically still-intact families) at the courts of Catholic Europe, as well as relating their complex, at times dangerous, lives at home in Protestant Ascendancy-ruled Ireland.

In addition to Eileen’s, the books trace the largely-fictional lives of several other O’Connells of Derrynane, it is the tantalisingly few facts that are historically documented about them which provide the basic threads around which the tale itself is woven, into which strategic additions of numerous historical and fictional personalities and events intertwine seamlessly.


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ISBN: 978-0997407600

on 7th July, 2016

Pages: 348

Published By: Gortcullinane Press
Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #HistFic + #HistoricalFiction

About Kevin O' Connell

Kevin O'Connell

Kevin O’Connell is a native of New York City and a descendant of a young officer of what had—from 1690 to 1792—been the Irish Brigade of the French army, believed to have arrived in French Canada following the execution of Queen Marie Antoinette in October of 1793. At least one grandson subsequently returned to Ireland and Mr. O’Connell’s own grandparents came to New York in the early twentieth century. He holds both Irish and American citizenship.

He is a graduate of Providence College and Georgetown University Law Centre.

For more than four decades, O’Connell has practiced international business transactional law, primarily involving direct-investment matters, throughout Asia (principally China), Europe, and the Middle East.

Mr. O’Connell has been a serious student of selected (especially the Eighteenth Century) periods of the history of Ireland for virtually all of his life; one significant aspect of this has been a continuing scholarly as well as personal interest in the extended O’Connell family at Derrynane, many even distant and long-ago members of which, especially the characters about whom he writes, he has “known” intimately since childhood.

The father of five children and grandfather of ten, he and his wife, Laurette, live with their golden retriever, Katie, near Annapolis, Maryland.

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My review of beyond derrynane:

As we enter into Eileen’s life, we’re finding she’s only just returnt home; you can feel the emotional cost this return to her mother’s house has cost her; both by what is spoken and what is emotionally visible. Her brother isn’t a likeable sort – even on first meeting – he sneers and he has this whole attitude of unjust reproach for his sister which feels heavy-handed and unfair. Her mother is full of the love you would hope would embrace a daughter returning home but there is an uneven measure of distrust if this homecoming is bittersweet or at the least, unwelcome. It is shortly after the story begins we start to become privy to how the events unfolded; how a brother conspired to wed his sister and how, on her return, he is one-minded in wanting her immediate return to her betrothed.

As you find more of the reasons behind why young Eileen was a bride of convenience you find the disheartening truth of how her father’s first bourne son turnt his back on his sister and even, quite frustratingly dismissed his own mother from a choice which would alter his sister’s life. Their family was a proud family who had found a way to be self-sufficient and also, worked hard in their community to ensure they had the provisions they needed even if the ways in which they employed to achieve their wares might not have felt secure in the eyes of Eileen’s brother. You can tell he had an immediate reaction to how he was raised, the legacy of his father and of course, his intense disdain for the women in his family. He was beyond arrogant and fiercely disloyal to both his mother and his sisters. In short, he is not a man to cross nor one to be related too, because he doesn’t see women as equals but rather as charges of whom he is in full control. During their time in history, it was oft true the men would rule over women, but not all men ruled their homes with such a distastefully strong hand nor one where they inflicted fear and had a heart removed of compassion. In this, I felt the author wrote quite the villain in Eileen’s life; as he capitalised on a brother who might have been focused on wealth but the joys and compassionate empathy one would hope he might embrace were lost. You can feel the upheaval of his mother’s heart – finding that the goodness of her husband did not transfer into her son.

Fly in the Ointment:

When I read the section of where Eileen was re-telling her marriage to the man her brother sold her in exchange for stability and wealth, I found myself recoiling a bit from the piercing realistic telling of how her then-husband was starting to abuse her as it began innocently as a young girl newly married who wanted to please her husband on the day of her wedding but it quickly eclipsed her innocence and became one of the hardest passages I’ve found to read in historical fiction. It wasn’t just the horrific telling of her attack nor of what was causing her discomfort and distrust of men in the height of finding her husband was not the man she believed him to be originally; but it was the tone of the whole passage that I found most disturbing. So much so, I did not feel as if I could move forward and follow the rest of her story. It felt incredibly absent of hope and the fact there was such a strong presence of vulgarity and an illicit darkness to Eileen’s start of marriage, I simply found myself not willing to find out anything else about her life.

Sometimes I find historical narratives go a bit too far for me in the content of keeping historical fiction anchoured in realism. I know there were a lot of difficult marriages and men who did not respect women throughout history but knowing this and reading narratives that are highlighting this behaviour is something that I find is outside the breadth of what I am interested in reading at this point in time. I thought this was going to be a story going into a different direction entirely but it’s hard to resolve my thoughts on this story, when the undertone of the novel is set to such a height of darkness.

on the historical styling of kevin o’ connell:

I loved reading the authors words of acknowledgement and how he had a wonderfully supportive community behind him as he worked on what has now become the Derrynane Saga. I love reading the ‘stories’ behind stories but also, the stories behind how writers find their muse or find their supportive encouragers who believe in their writing as much as the writer who has found the inspiration to write the story which is speaking to them. It’s a beautiful circle and I am thankful the author shared a bit of this side of his story with all of us.

Whilst writing the saga of Eileen and her sisters, O’ Connell also etched out a fuller back-story of this period of Irish History whilst endeavouring to explain the situation of this century of European history to his readers. The density of his narrative is approachable as he relates history in a way that makes the story palpable to those whom might not be as familiar with this period of history.

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This blog tour is courtesy of: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Beyond Derrynane blog tour via HFVBTs.

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{SOURCES: Cover art of “Beyond Derrynane”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Kevin O’ Connell and the tour badge were all provided by HFVBTs (Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours) and used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Book Review Banner using Unsplash.com (Creative Commons Zero) Photography by Frank McKenna and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2017 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Monday, 23 January, 2017 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, Domestic Violence, Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, Indie Author, Psychological Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Vulgarity in Literature




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