‘Will Eliza be able to keep her family safe at the edge of the world? And can her marriage survive all that the island throws at them?‘
– The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife
[ About The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife ]
Life is hard in Ireland in 1867. Eliza Carthy moves with her lighthouse-keeper husband James and sons Peter and Joseph to the remote island of Skellig Michael. Eliza is proud of her husband and his promotion to Principal Keeper and is eager to support him in his work and fulfil her duty as a good wife and mother. But life in this extreme location is challenging.
The island is 54 acres of jagged rock, jutting out of the Atlantic, with no way of communicating from or leaving the island. With no access to a boat, keepers must rely on a tender boat to deliver news, supplies and act as their conduit to life on the mainland. The island is exposed to extreme changes of weather and the landscape is fraught with danger.
When Assistant Keeper Edmund and his wife Ruth arrive, Eliza hopes for respite. But her new neighbours are not what she’d expected. They blow hot and cold, seemingly wanting Eliza and her family to leave Skellig Michael, and making her question her sanity.
Will Eliza be able to keep her family safe at the edge of the world? And can her marriage survive all that the island throws at them?
[ My Review ]
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife is the debut novel from Irish writer June O’Sullivan and is published with Poolbeg Press. It is historical fiction set on the extremely isolated island of Skellig Michael in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Co. Kerry and is described as ‘a heart-wrenching story of motherhood and survival’.
I have driven along the coastline of Kerry many times with Skellig Michael in sight and it’s an austere and unforgiving looking rock out in the midst of the Atlantic’s crashing waves. Inhabited by monks until the thirteenth century, it is now a UNESCO heritage site and is a place that visitors can travel to to witness for themselves the huts and the remains of the monastic settlement. I have yet to set foot on the island so I was really unaware of the fact that in the 1800s Skellig Lighthouse was established there, with the lighthouse keepers and their families living in the attached residences until the 1900s. June O’Sullivan lives in Co. Kerry and, following a visit to Skellig Michael, she was inspired to write this story, bringing the harsh lives of those who inhabited the island to life.
When Eliza Carthy married her lighthouse keeper husband James, she knew that his work would take them to various counties but at no time did she expect to be heading for an outlying island in the Atlantic ocean. With two small children to look after she was wary of the risks but was also aware of her husband’s passion for his job and his desire to be a solid provider for Eliza and the boys. Approximately 12 km away from the mainland, the journey across was made easy by the men who accompanied them with their luggage but, in the following few months, as they awaited for an assistant keeper, Eliza grew tired and lonely. With little to do and the two boys frustrated with the lack of space, the atmosphere grew tense at times but Eliza and James had a strong partnership and always were there for each other.
When news of the assistant and his wife’s imminent arrival reached them, Eliza was excited. Another female to chat to and to be in the company of was just what she had hoped for to drive away that clawing feeling of isolation. But as the weeks passed Eliza began to have doubts about the behaviour of her new neighbours. Ruth, the wife, could be very aloof and Edmund, her husband seemed to be a cold fish. Neither were what Eliza was hoping for but with the weather turning, she knew that she had to get on with things for James and for her two boys. But life on this desolate island was about to take a dark turn with unexpected behaviour and shocking consequences. Can Eliza keep her sanity and her family together?
With scenes that some readers may find traumatic, June O’Sullivan sensitively explores the depths of the human spirit and its ability to deal with loss, grief, greed and the enduring power of hope. A heart-breaking story of survival and resilience set against an extremely harsh background The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife is a very poignant and vivid debut.
[ Bio ]
June O’Sullivan lives on an island in Co. Kerry. Her writing has appeared in the The Ogham Stone Journal, The York Literary Review, Seaside Gothic, The Storms Journal, The Waxed Lemon and Sonder. She is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Wife is her debut novel.
Facebook ~ @JuneOSullivanIsWriting
I didn’t know that there was a lighthouse keeper and family there either, at one time. I have been round the island in a boat in rough weather –an experience I never forget! What a place to live! An inspired place to set a novel. I’m going to check if there is an audible version available.
Sheila, I looked it up online and I couldn’t believe it. How stark and harsh a life it must have been.
I always connect more to a story when I have a personal connection of knowing where it is set or visiting there etc. I also enjoy books with Lighthouses, so this definitely piques my interest. Great review, Mairéad.