Frankie

When eighty-four year old Frankie Howe broke her leg her friend, Norah Forester, arranged for a carer, Damian, to look after her at night. Initially Frankie was not impressed with the arrangement but as she came to know Damian she gradually tells him the story of her eventful life.

Frankie was born in Ireland but was orphaned when she was a young child and brought up by relatives. Her life was lonely until she made friends with Norah at school - a friendship, despite the occasional ups and downs, that lasted a lifetime. After completing school Frankie (or Frances as she was then known) attended a cookery school which she enjoyed and provided her with skills that that became an important part of her life. From Ireland she moved to London and eventually found herself in New York where she  met Jack, a young man with desires to become an artist. 

Frankie by Graham Norton is primarily a study of relationships. Frankie recounts events in her life covering the years from 1950 to 1987 interspersed with conversations with Damian and Norah. We learn of the many challenges she faced in discovering how she really wanted to live her life. The background story provides information about the art scene in New York and also on the affects of AIDS when the first cases appeared in the community.

Graham Norton has written a heart warming novel about loneliness, trying to establish one's place within a community, love, kindness and facing despair. It is also a study of how people of different ages and backgrounds can come to an understanding and learn to care for each other. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this sensitive novel and learning about Frankie's world.

Forever Home

Carol Crottie lived in number 7 Stable Row in Ballytoor with her partner Declan Barry. Life was settled until Declan became ill and his son and daughter moved him into a nursing home. They then sold his house forcing Carol to return home to live with her elderly parents, Moira and Dave. Declan had always stipulated that the house must never be sold. When a body is discovered in a freezer in the basement Carol realises that there is much that she does not know about Declan.

Forever Home by Graham Norton is written with grim humour as the reader learns of the lives of Declan, his two children and wife, Joan, who moved away when the children were young. Carol also learns much more about her parents, particularly her mother, as Moira endeavours to solve the unexpected problems faced by her family.

A Keeper

Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after the death of her mother, primarily to check on the family home which will need to be sold. But when she discovers a box of letters in a box in her mother's wardrobe, Elizabeth becomes aware that her past may be very different from what she has been told. Then the family solicitor asks her to come and see him about a codicil in her mother's will. Elizabeth realises that while she is in Ireland she needs to investigate her family story. Alternate sections of the book provide the backgound to Patricia Keene's story.

A Keeper By Graham Norton is largely about relationships and the effect that grief can have on a family. Norton also explores how parents being over protective of their children can lead to unforseen consequences.

England's Queens: the biography

Elizabeth Norton provides a chronological record of the queens of England from Boudicia to Elizabeth II.

The titles of the chapters are: Early and Mythical Queens; Anglo-Saxon Queens; Norman Queens; Plantagenet Queens; Lancastrian Queens; Yorkist Queens; Six Wives of Henry VII; Tudor Queen Regnants; House of Stuart; Hanoverian Queens; From the House of Hanover to the House of Windsor. The book is illustrated, has a collection of genealogical tables plus a list of sources and bibliography.

As many of their husbands spent time fighting wars for long periods of time it was often left to the early queens to look after their husband's interests while they were away, often giving the women considerable power. This book provides an interesting account of the history of England through the lives of women who were queens.