I’m addicted to flicking through the old photographs posted by the National Library on Flickr. They attract me in the way peeping through a window into the past would: to catch a glimpse of real people captured in a moment of the 19th century.
My recent research led me to a collection of ‘four-legged’ images, where I soon discovered that people in the Victorian-era, from all walks of life, were just as obsessed with their dogs as we are today.
In October 1941, a porter at Dublin’s North Wall Docks was surprised to hear tapping from a large crate that had been unloaded from a ship from Liverpool, the Slieve Bawn. At first he thought he was imagining this, but he decided to tap back and was immediately answered with another tap from inside.
Upon opening it, he found a 40-year-old French artist, Maurice Carcassus de Laboujac, semi-conscious and encased in a plaster cast…
A happy New Year to you all! We’ve just recovered from a ‘cold snap’ here in Ireland, which is unusual in these days of global warming. My county got away lightly with only a minor dusting of snow, followed by ice for about five days, but many parts of the south were covered in a thick blanket of snow. In Cork and Tipperary, people were stuck in their homes, some without electricity or internet. A group of enterprising teenagers in County Cork, bored without their wi-fi, built a snow igloo of impressive proportions and they ended up on the national television news. It makes a change to see such creativity being highlighted.
I thought I’d do a different sort of post today. I often like to hear what my friends and family are reading and they help me decide what to read next. I’ve decided to recommend one Victorian novel and one modern novel every now and then. My enthusiasm has already run away with me because, in choosing Anthony Horowitz’s Hawthorne detective series, I’m actually recommending five books instead of one!
Obviously, because I am a mystery author, I read a lot of mysteries, especially dual timeline mysteries which I love, but I also like psychological thrillers and literary fiction. I re-read some of the classic novels over and over. I’m a big fan of Jane Austen, the Brontes, Daphne du Maurier and many others.
Exciting news broke in August this year about 800-year-old Johnstown Castle in Co Wexford where a hidden room, previously unknown to historians and caretakers, was stumbled upon by a joiner conducting conservation work.
The revelation of the secret room occurred during repairs to windows inside the castle. Contractors knocked through a section of the wall, revealing a concealed space that had remained untouched for decades. Johnstown Castle, which dates back to Norman times, was owned by various aristocratic families before entering public ownership in the late 20th century.
Greetings mystery lovers! Today, I’ll bring you into the world of The Whispering River, my new dual timeline novel that takes the reader on a journey through the late Victorian era and also into the present. This book, with the stunning backdrop of Ireland's Wicklow mountains, tells the tale of two steadfast women from different eras, both determined to build a better future for themselves.
George Moore made a fortune in the Spanish wine trade and decided in the 1790s to build himself an impressive house on the edge of Lough Carra in County Mayo in Ireland. The locals were superstitious about his choice of location because Muckloon Hill was alleged to have been cursed by a druid in the year 400.
I've recently listened to two compelling audio books by Daphne du Maurier: Jamaica Inn and Frenchman's Creek, both very different as the first is dark and dramatic and the second is humorous and romantic. Both have du Maurier suspense and both are about pirates in Cornwall.
Cornish pirates inspired me to research Irish pirates and I discovered Anne Bonny. She was a young Irish woman who was born Anne Cormac in Cork at the end of the 17th century. Apparently she was the illegitimate daughter of a well-to-do lawyer and his housemaid. There are many stories and myths about this reckless woman pillaging treasure ships on the high seas.
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© Suzanne Winterly 2025
