New novel marks Nuala’s debut in the UK and US

Ballinasloe author Nuala Ní Chonchuir, who has gained a reputation in Ireland for her award-winning contemporary fiction, has taken a new direction with her latest novel, Miss Emily.

Writing under the name Nuala O’Connor, she has travelled to 19th century Amherst, Massachusetts, to the family home of Emily Dickinson. The arrival of Irish maid Ada Concannon into the household in 1866 saves the Dickinsons from domestic disarray and more importantly, sees the two women form a strong friendship.

The reclusive American poet and the outgoing Irish teenager discover they were born on the same day and that seals their bond, despite the difference in their ages and social class. Ada provides ‘Miss Emily’ with company during her melancholy spells, while Dickinson steps outside of her comfort zone to support Ada when the maid’s reputation is violated and people turn against her.

Told in alternating chapters by Dickinson and Ada Concannon – the plot is somewhat predictable, but the writing is beautiful and engaging and Ní Chonchuir’s attention to domestic detail and the rhythm of small-town life is superb.

Miss Emily, which is being published this side of the Atlantic by Scotland’s Sandstone Press, marks the first time that Ní Chonchuir has been represented in the UK, hence the Anglicisation of her name.

Here at home, the Dublin-born Ní Chonchuir has had two novels published – You and The Closet of Savage Mementos – as well as five short-story collections and four books of poetry. Her awards for fiction awards include RTÉ radio’s Francis MacManus Award, the Cúirt New Writing Prize, the Jane Geske Award (USA), the inaugural Jonathan Swift Award and the Cecil Day Lewis Award. She was also shortlisted for the European Prize for Literature.

Miss Emily also sees Ní Chonchuir make her American and Canadian debut. She is being published there by Penguin-Random House and already the Washington Post has described Miss Emily as a “quietly soaring” novel.

It’s available in bookshops and online priced at €12.99.