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In the late 1960s, in the hollow of an ancient oak tree beyond a derelict cottage in Cork, were found  the bones of a three-year-old girl.  It was thought that they dated back to the time of the great potato famine of the mid 1800s.  The bones were discovered by an American woman, who had inherited the cottage which had lain empty and broken for forty years.  Local searches reveal that the house had originally belonged to The Quinns.  Eliza Quinn was their baby. This is a story that speaks of generations and of landscapes: abandoned villages, famine graves, old potato ridges sinking back into the earth, traces of a population that fell by two and a half million in less than ten years.  It is also about hunger, both physical and emotional.  But above all, it is the story of the Quinn family.  And it is Carol Birch's tour de force. 'Deeply rooted humanity and highly intelligent understanding of the simulataneous complexity and simplicity of individual lives'  Alex Clark. 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Manchester, 1960s. Sally, a cynical fifteen-year-old schoolgirl, is much too clever for her own good. When partnered with her best friend, Pamela – a mouthy girl who no-one else much likes – Sally is unable to resist the temptation of rebellion. The pair play truant, explore forbidden areas of the old school and – their favourite – torment posh Sylvia Rose, with her pristine uniform and her beautiful voice that wins every singing prize.  One day, Sally ventures (unauthorised, of course) up to the greenhouse on the roof alone. Or at least she thinks she's alone, until she sees Sylvia on the roof too. Sally hurries downstairs, afraid of Sylvia snitching, but Sylvia appears to be there as well.  Amidst the resurgence of ghost stories and superstition among the girls, a tragedy is about to occur, one that will send Sally further and further down an uncanny rabbit hole...  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Birch renders the atmosphere of the sixties impeccably, and conveys most brilliantly the taut, complicated relationships between teenage girls with all their neediness, bravado and gullibility' Lesley Glaister","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49532104966417,"sku":"GOR012296006","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50697973235985,"sku":"NGR9781838939458","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51882308174097,"sku":"GOR012703462","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53043229098257,"sku":"GOR012510683","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1838939458.jpg?v=1750833038"},{"product_id":"scapegallows-book-carol-birch-9781844083909","title":"Scapegallows","description":"New South Wales, 1817.  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Did you hear? Big landslip over by Ercol. Last night. The road into Gully's closed off. They found a body. Got police tape. All that stuff. They only do that for murder, don't they? Murder!   A body has been uncovered in a mudslide just outside the village of Andwiston. In the pub they talk of murder, but Dan – sometime mechanic, constant drunk – is finding it hard to sift through his jumbled memories. Watching him from the dark is Lorna, a lost soul living in the woods, haunted by ghosts and a vision from her childhood: a cold boy standing alone in Gallinger's field.  Fusing the ghost story with sharp, psychological insight, Cold Boy's Wood is an arresting, timely novel about loneliness, buried secrets and the havoc they play on the mind.  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Birch renders the atmosphere of the sixties impeccably, and conveys most brilliantly the taut, complicated relationships between teenage girls with all their neediness, bravado and gullibility' Lesley Glaister","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49569174978833,"sku":"GOR013197797","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49743473705233,"sku":"NGR9781838939472","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51798158442769,"sku":"GOR014406651","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1838939474.jpg?v=1751430598"},{"product_id":"jamrach-s-menagerie-book-carol-birch-9781847676566","title":"Jamrach's Menagerie","description":"I was born twice. 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This great salty historical adventure is a gripping exploration of our relationship to the natural world and the wildness it contains.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49583172813073,"sku":"GOR002438619","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52744750072081,"sku":"GOR002671849","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1847676561.jpg?v=1751027903"},{"product_id":"come-back-paddy-riley-book-carol-birch-9781844087983","title":"Come Back, Paddy Riley","description":"Anita's mother was the mermaid in the Belle Vue Fair Freak Show.  Into their lives came Paddy Riley, a young Irish lad whose motto was 'the only crime in life is not to take up a good opportunity'. The opportunity was Anita's mother -  hungry for love and romance.  Their secret is safe until young Anita, their go-between, spins a jealous lie that tragically catches them all.  Now grown with children of her own, Anita has found a kind of peace with a sweet husband, and the past is past.   Until that is, a man not unlike Paddy Riley comes to their town.  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