Kate O'Brien

Set in the 1880s and '90s, As Music and Splendour tells the story of two young Irish girls who are sent to Rome for training as opera singers. Rose – red-haired, big-hearted and big-voiced – is soon on track to become a prima donna soprano; Clare, also a soprano but subtler and less glamorous, is more at home with sacred music. While Rose juggles the affections of various men, Clare embarks on a passionate affair with her fellow-student Luisa. As Music in Splendour is a thrillingly readable and romantic novel from one of the very few truly important Irish novelists of the twentieth century.

Based on the life of Ana de Mendoza, princess of Eboli.

Banned in Ireland when it was first published in 1936, Talk of Angels is an extraordinary novel by Kate O'Brien, one of the preeminent modern Irish women writers, whose influence and importance are being rediscovered today by a new generation of readers. A powerful and romantic tale of lost innocence and illicit love, Talk of Angels is set in Spain as the country is moving toward the brink of civil war. Mary Lavelle, a young Irish woman, journeys there to work as a governess with the Areavaga family. With the arrival of their handsome son Juanito, Mary soon finds her convent education and beliefs challenged by his fiery politics and passionate opinions that are not only at odds with the government, but also with those of his own aristocratic wife. Finding themselves at the heart of a family and a nation divided, Mary and Juanito seize the opportunity to consummate their newfound love in a night of passion and betrayal that foretells the coming of a new era.