Summary of Star of the Sea
It is 1847, and the Star of the Sea sets sail from Cobh (County Cork, Ireland) bound for New York. The ship is filled with Irish refugees attempting to escape an Ireland devasted by the Famine. Among the passengers are Lord Meredith, who has evicted many poor farming families from their homes, his maid, a journalist, and a mysterious man on a mission to kill one of the other passengers. Through flashbacks, entries in the captain’s logbook, newspaper articles, letters by the passengers, and other documents, “Star of the Sea” tells the story of the hardships of life in Connemara during the Irish Famine of the 1840s.
Reasons to read Star of the Sea
“Star of the Sea” is a powerful historical novel about the Irish Famine (particularly in Connemara) caused by the potato blight of the 1840s, and the resulting mass emigration of poor Irish people to the United States. Joseph O’Connor, an Irish writer (and brother of singer Sinéad O’Connor), is mostly known for his historical novels, including the bestselling “Star of the Sea” and “Shadowplay” (Irish Novel of the Year award in 2019). Joseph O’Connor received the Irish PEN Award for Literature in 2012.
Location: Ireland
Book set in Ireland (Connemara) and England (London)
Original title: Star of the Sea
Year of publication: 2002
Nr of pages: 432
