About the Book

January 1932: Ben MacCarthy and his father watch a vagabond variety revue making a stop in the Irish countryside. After a two-hour kaleidoscope of low comedy, juggling, tumbling, and other entertainments, Ben’s father, mesmerized by Venetia Kelly, the troupe’s magnetic headliner, makes a fateful decision: to abandon his family and set off on the road with Miss Kelly and her caravan. Ben’s mother, shattered by the desertion, exhorts, “Find him and bring him back,” thereby sending the boy on a Homeric voyage into manhood.
Interweaving historical figures including W. B. Yeats and a host of unforgettable creations—“King” Kelly, Venetia’s violent, Mephistophelean grandfather; Sarah Kelly, Venetia’s mysterious, amoral mother; and even a truth-telling ventriloquist’s dummy named Blarney—Frank Delaney unfurls a splendid narrative that spans half the world and a tumultuous, eventful decade.

Product Details

Media: Paperback Book, 436 pages

Language: English

Publisher: Random House Trade

Edition: Unknown

ISBN-10: 0812979737

Publication Date: Jan. 17th, 2012

ISBN-13: 9780812979732

Dimensions: 14.07 x 20.78 x 2.44 cm

Shipping Weight: 0.24 kg

• Categories: Sagas Fiction