Peggy loved the crisp golden skin and the unusual taste of the meat, and the bittersweet cranberries. She was a bit suspicious of the pumpkin pie, but it too was delicious. She was getting used to strange tastes and new things, and this was the finest meal she had eaten since leaving Castletaggart.
Thinking about home, she fingered the horsehair circle Michael had made for her. It hung from a ribbon round her neck now, inside her uniform. Ireland, Eily, Michael and Nano – nothing would ever take their memory away or make her forget them. But still there was so much she could do here in America. Sure she had to work hard for every dollar she earned, but by heaven she had plans for those dollars. In only half a year her life had changed so much. Yet with all that had happened – the fear, the hardships, the homesickness – she had survived.
‘Peggy! You’re daydreaming again,’ joked Kitty.
Peggy looked around. It was strange, but sitting here in the kitchen at Rushton, celebrating her first American Thanksgiving, she felt at home. Kitty and Mrs O’Connor had almost become her family. She thought about Sarah, and hoped she too was happy. She was to meet her on her next Sunday afternoon off, when Sarah and her brothers would have a small celebration of their own.
The bell from upstairs rang.
‘Oh, no,’ moaned Kitty, ‘what do they want now?’
Peggy hopped up. ‘You stay. I’ll get it.’
She got up from the table and ran off up the stairs.
About the Author
MARITA CONLON-McKENNA is one of Ireland’s most popular children’s authors. She has written many bestselling children’s books. Under the Hawthorn Tree, her first novel, became an immediate bestseller and has been described as ‘the biggest success story in children’s historical fiction.’ It has been reprinted numerous times since its first publication in 1990, and has reached a worldwide audience through translations and foreign editions. Its sequels, Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home, which complete the CHILDREN OF THE FAMINE trilogy, have also been hugely successful. Marita’s other children’s novels (see inside back cover) have also received wide critical acclaim.
DONALD TESKEY drew the chapter-head illustrations. His paintings have been exhibited to great acclaim in Europe and North America.
Other books by
MARITA CONLON-McKENNA
Under the Hawthorn Tree
Fields of Home
The Blue Horse
No Goodbye
Safe Harbour
In Deep Dark Wood
A Girl Called Blue
Copyright
This eBook edition first published 2013 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,
12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland.
Tel: +353 1 4923333; Fax: +353 1 4922777
E-mail: [email protected]; Website: www.obrien.ie
First published 1991 by The O’Brien Press Ltd.
Reprinted 1991. First paperback edition 1992.
Reprinted 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998,
1999, 2000 (twice), 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 (twice),
2008, 2009, 2010 (twice), 2012.
eBook ISBN: 978–1–84717–601–1
Text © copyright Marita Conlon-McKenna 1991
Copyright for editing, layout, illustrations and design
© The O’Brien Press Ltd
UNAUTHORISED COPYING IS ILLEGAL
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Typesetting, editing, design, layout: The O’Brien Press Ltd
Internal illustrations: Donald Teskey
Cover illustration: PJ Lynch
The O’Brien Press receives assistance from
The Children of the Famine Trilogy
UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE
Ireland in the 1840s is devastated by famine. When tragedy strikes their family, Eily, Michael and Peggy are left to fend for themselves. Starving and in danger of being sent to the workhouse, they escape. Their only hope is to find the great-aunts they have heard about in their mother’s stories. With tremendous courage, they set out on a journey that will test every reserve of strength, love and loyalty they possess.
FIELDS OF HOME
Only a few years ago, Eily, Michael and Peggy survived the Great Famine. Now Peggy is in America, hoping for a new life, and finally she heads for the Wild West. Eily and Michael face new challenges at home. Everywhere there is unrest, with evictions, burnings, secret meetings. What will become of them and of Eily’s little girl, Mary-Brigid?
Also available on DVD
Wildflower Girl (Children of the Famine) Page 13