Overview

Mary Pat Kelly showcases the most tumultuous years of the twentieth century through the eyes of an indomitable Irish-American in Irish Above All, a beautiful work of historical fiction. After ten years in Paris, where she learned photography and became part of the movement that invented modern art, Chicago-born, Irish-American Nora Kelly is at last returning home. Her skill as a photographer will help her cousin Ed Kelly in his rise to Mayor of Chicago (1933-1947). But when she captures the moment an assassin's bullet narrowly misses President-elect Franklin Roosevelt and strikes Anton Cermak in February 1933, she enters a world of international intrigue and danger. She must balance family obligations against her encounters with larger-than-life historical characters, such as Joseph Kennedy, Big Bill Thompson, Al Capone, Mussolini, and the circle of women who surround F.D.R. Nora moves through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II, but it's her unexpected trip to Ireland that transforms her life.

Full Product Details

9780765380883

Table of Contents

Reviews

Prepare to be transported through 1920s-40s Chicago and Ireland for an epic story of love, loss and the strength of one incredible Irish woman. --Martha Hall Kelly, author of New York Times bestseller Lilac Girls Mary Pat Kelly's masterful saga of Irish American life and history comes to a thrilling conclusion with Irish Above All as the Kellys and the Kennedys achieve political power with very different consequences. A great read. --Patricia Harty, cofounder and editor-in-chief of Irish America Magazine Irish Above All combines the myths and magic of Ireland with the grit and energy of Irish-American Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. I am delighted that main character Nora Kelly travels with Eleanor Roosevelt to visit the US Marines stationed in my beloved Derry during WWII--a little known story--and that Nora has a spiritual awakening in the Grianan of Aileach, a sacred space for me since childhood. --Roma Downey, New York Times bestselling author of Box of Butterflies, acclaimed actress, producer and president of LightWorkers Media at MGM Television Ahead of her times, Nora Kelly is a fascinating woman of vision and an inspiration to today's generation of women photographers. --Barbara Kasten, internationally recognized artist known for her abstract photography Nobody knows the Irish like Mary Pat Kelly. And nobody writing today knows better how to breath life into Irish-Americans, with all their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Fictional characters and historical figures emerge full blown and fiery in this big, sprawling, read-it-all-weekend kind of epic. You'll love it. --William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Bound for Gold Mary Pat Kelly vividly captures the tumult of Chicago machine politics, with its hard-fought ethnic and racial struggles. A tale told by a feisty spirited woman, Irish Above All takes us from the Jazz Age through World War II. It is history with a timely contemporary message. For as one Irishman puts it: 'All of us are descended from someone who got out against the odds.' --Margo Jefferson, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Negroland

"""Prepare to be transported through 1920s-40s Chicago and Ireland for an epic story of love, loss and the strength of one incredible Irish woman."" --Martha Hall Kelly, author of New York Times bestseller Lilac Girls ""Mary Pat Kelly's masterful saga of Irish American life and history comes to a thrilling conclusion with Irish Above All as the Kellys and the Kennedys achieve political power with very different consequences. A great read."" --Patricia Harty, cofounder and editor-in-chief of Irish America Magazine ""Irish Above All combines the myths and magic of Ireland with the grit and energy of Irish-American Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. I am delighted that main character Nora Kelly travels with Eleanor Roosevelt to visit the US Marines stationed in my beloved Derry during WWII--a little known story--and that Nora has a spiritual awakening in the Grianan of Aileach, a sacred space for me since childhood."" --Roma Downey, New York Times bestselling author of Box of Butterflies, acclaimed actress, producer and president of LightWorkers Media at MGM Television ""Ahead of her times, Nora Kelly is a fascinating woman of vision and an inspiration to today's generation of women photographers."" --Barbara Kasten, internationally recognized artist known for her abstract photography ""Nobody knows the Irish like Mary Pat Kelly. And nobody writing today knows better how to breath life into Irish-Americans, with all their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Fictional characters and historical figures emerge full blown and fiery in this big, sprawling, read-it-all-weekend kind of epic. You'll love it."" --William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Bound for Gold ""Mary Pat Kelly vividly captures the tumult of Chicago machine politics, with its hard-fought ethnic and racial struggles. A tale told by a feisty spirited woman, Irish Above All takes us from the Jazz Age through World War II. It is history with a timely contemporary message. For as one Irishman puts it: 'All of us are descended from someone who got out against the odds.'"" --Margo Jefferson, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Negroland"

Prepare to be transported through 1920s-40s Chicago and Ireland for an epic story of love, loss and the strength of one incredible Irish woman. --Martha Hall Kelly, author of New York Times bestseller Lilac Girls Mary Pat Kelly's masterful saga of Irish American life and history comes to a thrilling conclusion with Irish Above All as the Kellys and the Kennedys achieve political power with very different consequences. A great read. --Patricia Harty, cofounder and editor-in-chief of Irish America Magazine Irish Above All combines the myths and magic of Ireland with the grit and energy of Irish-American Chicago in the first half of the 20th century. I am delighted that main character Nora Kelly travels with Eleanor Roosevelt to visit the US Marines stationed in my beloved Derry during WWII--a little known story--and that Nora has a spiritual awakening in the Grianan of Aileach, a sacred space for me since childhood. --Roma Downey, New York Times bestselling author of Box of Butterflies, acclaimed actress, producer and president of LightWorkers Media at MGM Television Ahead of her times, Nora Kelly is a fascinating woman of vision and an inspiration to today's generation of women photographers. --Barbara Kasten, internationally recognized artist known for her abstract photography Nobody knows the Irish like Mary Pat Kelly. And nobody writing today knows better how to breath life into Irish-Americans, with all their dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Fictional characters and historical figures emerge full blown and fiery in this big, sprawling, read-it-all-weekend kind of epic. You'll love it. --William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Bound for Gold Mary Pat Kelly vividly captures the tumult of Chicago machine politics, with its hard-fought ethnic and racial struggles. A tale told by a feisty spirited woman, Irish Above All takes us from the Jazz Age through World War II. It is history with a timely contemporary message. For as one Irishman puts it: 'All of us are descended from someone who got out against the odds.' --Margo Jefferson, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Negroland

Praise for Of Irish Blood Fascinating story. Engrossing with an endearing central character and a wonderful rich historical background. --Mary Higgins Clark, international and New York Times bestselling author Kelly is a wonderful, creative, intelligent writer who's endowed with a sense of humor. I highly recommend Of Irish Blood. --Malachy McCourt, New York Times bestselling author of A Monk Swimming A sweeping historical novel played on one of the world's richest stages--Paris in the teens and twenties, where Irish ex-pats mingle with Americans and fascinating fictional characters rub elbows with Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, even Coco Chanel. The book trembles with the intrigues of international politics, thunders with the distant sounds of strife, and pulses with life. Like other great Irish yarns, spun by great Irish storytellers, it's complex, lively, wildly romantic, and hugely entertaining. Don't miss it. --William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Lincoln Letter A gripping story about passionate people. It's also an exploration of the depth and heights of that explosive word, Irish. There is heartbreak in the word--and exaltation. A rare reading experience. --Thomas Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Trial of Robert E. Lee A feisty Irish-American girl from Chicago discovers love, independence, and what it means to be Irish... Vivid and full of passion, Of Irish Blood will sweep you away. --Lynn Garafola, author of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes A passionately told tale of romance and revolution that brushes away the dust and cobwebs of history to bring alive a time when the fates of individuals and nations hung in the balance. The writing is vivid, the characters fiery real, and the story irresistible. Of Irish Blood is a book to savor and remember. --Peter Quinn, winner of the American Book Award for Banished Children of Eve Mary Pat is an incredible writer; there is really no one better to capture the sophisticated, original and slightly offbeat Parisian fashion of The Roaring Twenties as seen through the eyes of a younger generation. --Tommy Hilfiger, iconic fashion designer

Author Information

MARY PAT KELLY is the author of Of Irish Blood and the bestselling Galway Bay. She has worked in Hollywood as a screenwriter for Paramount and Columbia Pictures, and in New York City as an associate producer with Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live. Born and raised in Chicago, she lives in Manhattan with her husband, Web designer Martin Sheerin.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available