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Mossgrove #2
Across the river
(Taylor's sturdy, workmanlike prose suits her story well, and this pleasant novel will leave readers caught in the Phelan tale and waiting for more. -- Booklist Alice Taylor is an outstanding storyteller. Like a true seanchai, she uses detail to signal twists in the plot or trouble ahead. It is tightly plotted fiction, an old-fashioned page-turner. -- The Irish Times)
288 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2000
About the author
Alice Taylor
109 books64 followersAlice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon in County Cork, in a house attached to the local supermarket and post office. Since her eldest son has taken over responsibility for the shop, she has been able to devote more time to her writing.
Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine which has since appeared annually. In 1986 she published an illustrated collection of her own verse.
To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, launching Alice on a series of signing sessions, talks and readings the length and breadth of Ireland. Her first radio interview, forty two minutes long on RTÉ Radio's Gay Byrne Show, was the most talked about radio programme of 1988, and her first television interview, of the same length, was the highlight of the year on RTÉ television's Late Late Show. Since then she has appeared on radio programmes such as Woman's Hour, Midweek and The Gloria Hunniford Show, and she has been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.
To School Through the Fields quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, and her sequels, Quench the Lamp, The Village, Country Days and The Night Before Christmas, were also outstandingly successful. Since their initial publication these books of memoirs have also been translated and sold internationally.
In 1997 her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks. A moving story of land, love and family, it was followed by a sequel, Across the River in 2000, which was also a bestseller.
One of Ireland's most popular authors, she has continued writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry since.
Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine which has since appeared annually. In 1986 she published an illustrated collection of her own verse.
To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, launching Alice on a series of signing sessions, talks and readings the length and breadth of Ireland. Her first radio interview, forty two minutes long on RTÉ Radio's Gay Byrne Show, was the most talked about radio programme of 1988, and her first television interview, of the same length, was the highlight of the year on RTÉ television's Late Late Show. Since then she has appeared on radio programmes such as Woman's Hour, Midweek and The Gloria Hunniford Show, and she has been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.
To School Through the Fields quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, and her sequels, Quench the Lamp, The Village, Country Days and The Night Before Christmas, were also outstandingly successful. Since their initial publication these books of memoirs have also been translated and sold internationally.
In 1997 her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks. A moving story of land, love and family, it was followed by a sequel, Across the River in 2000, which was also a bestseller.
One of Ireland's most popular authors, she has continued writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry since.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 11, 2026
The second book in the Mossgrove trilogy, we continue to follow the Phelan family as son Peter is coming of age to run the farm and clashing heads with his stubborn mother Martha. And beyond the fields, their neighbour Matt Conway is watching for a chance to get revenge.
These are shorter, very enjoyable novels following country life in the 1950/60s Ireland. Alice Taylor crafts a set of characters so well from those you love to those you hate. Martha was horrible in the first book but I loved to see her soften in this book and as a reader I appreciated her nature to get certain things done to look after her family .
I’m looking forward to reading the next one soon.
These are shorter, very enjoyable novels following country life in the 1950/60s Ireland. Alice Taylor crafts a set of characters so well from those you love to those you hate. Martha was horrible in the first book but I loved to see her soften in this book and as a reader I appreciated her nature to get certain things done to look after her family .
I’m looking forward to reading the next one soon.
July 27, 2025
like listening to a friend tell you about their family drama
PEACE LOVE SWEET DANNY CONWAY
PEACE LOVE SWEET DANNY CONWAY
January 25, 2016
100 sayfa filan anca okuyabildim. Sorun benden kaynaklanmış olabilir belki de bilemiyorum ama bir hafta elimde süründükten sonra bırakmaya karar verdim. Okuyun yada okumayın diyemiyorum. Karar sizin :)
December 20, 2010
The ranch is saved, and the bad guy is gone. Good ending to the story started in the first book.
August 14, 2016
İlk kitap daha mı iyiydi ne?
February 25, 2026
A lovely little Irish tale filled with lovely Irish people--and the requisite bad bloke, just to keep things lively. Martha Phelan competently runs Mossgrove farm, a task she inherited with her husband Ned's early death, All runs smoothly with the help of 70-year-old Jack, who loves the land with all his being. Martha is a steely woman, not prone to displays of emotion, one who often locks horns with her son Peter, who shares her no-nonsense personality. The fly in this Hibernian bit of honey comes in the form of Matt Conway, and the bone of contention is a field that Matt believes was stolen from the Conways generations ago. Sometimes a sweet story with a happy ending is just the antidote that is required when the news of the day is relentlessly bitter. I'm glad I read this book during this bleak week in February when the world of kindness seems to be crumbling with every new day.
November 24, 2019
Satisfying, sweet and poignant story of the going-on in an Irish village. Bully Matt Conway goes too far and crafty Martha takes her revenge. Good-looking Father Tim finds his calling, young Nora gets a second chance, old Jack spreads his good-natured paternalism everywhere and the American Rodney appears at the end with the solution to all their problems.
May 26, 2023
Loved this book part 2 of this series brilliant read
So looking forward to the next one 😍5*
So looking forward to the next one 😍5*
September 17, 2023
Even better than the first one.... onto #3
August 19, 2025
This second book in the Mossgrove series is very good. Now I’m going to read the third and final novel in this series.
December 9, 2015
Alice Taylor - Nehrin Karşı Kıyısı || Kitap Yorumu
Büyük bir heyecanla okumaya sarıldığım kitabın bir seri kitabı olduğunu fark etmemle yaşadığım o derin buhranı size anlatsam kelimeler yetmez. Ama şu da vardı ki kitap tek de okunabiliyor. Tamam ilk kitabı merak edip duruyorsunuz fakat akıcı anlatımı sizi kendine çekiyor.
Bir çiftlik hikayesiydi Nehrin Karşı Kıyısı kitabı. Filmlerde ya da dizilerde genel olarak çiftlik hikayelerini izlemeyi severim ve bir de okumak çok keyifliydi.
Yazarın ilk kitabı Evin Hanımı’nı merak ede durayım -en kısa zamanda alıp okumam gerek!- ikinci kitap için duygu ve düşüncelerimi aktarayım. Kitabı beğendim. Bol bol düşündüğüm ve yer yer güldüğüm, eğlenceli bir kitaptı. Yazarın anlatımını gerçekten sevdim. Kapağa da aşık oldum. Zaten görür görmez üzerine atlamamın sebebi bu değil miydi? Orkinos Yayınları’nın kapaklarını seviyorum. Zarif, dikkat çeken ve çok şeker kapaklara sahip kitap çıkarmaktalar.
1960’lı yılların çiflik hayatı kaleme alınmış. Akıcı, zorlanmadan su gibi akıp giden bir anlatım, zeki bir kurgu ve hoş bir hikayeyle okuru kendine bağlayan bir kitap.
Devamı için; http://sonsayfasiask.blogspot.com.tr/...
Büyük bir heyecanla okumaya sarıldığım kitabın bir seri kitabı olduğunu fark etmemle yaşadığım o derin buhranı size anlatsam kelimeler yetmez. Ama şu da vardı ki kitap tek de okunabiliyor. Tamam ilk kitabı merak edip duruyorsunuz fakat akıcı anlatımı sizi kendine çekiyor.
Bir çiftlik hikayesiydi Nehrin Karşı Kıyısı kitabı. Filmlerde ya da dizilerde genel olarak çiftlik hikayelerini izlemeyi severim ve bir de okumak çok keyifliydi.
Yazarın ilk kitabı Evin Hanımı’nı merak ede durayım -en kısa zamanda alıp okumam gerek!- ikinci kitap için duygu ve düşüncelerimi aktarayım. Kitabı beğendim. Bol bol düşündüğüm ve yer yer güldüğüm, eğlenceli bir kitaptı. Yazarın anlatımını gerçekten sevdim. Kapağa da aşık oldum. Zaten görür görmez üzerine atlamamın sebebi bu değil miydi? Orkinos Yayınları’nın kapaklarını seviyorum. Zarif, dikkat çeken ve çok şeker kapaklara sahip kitap çıkarmaktalar.
1960’lı yılların çiflik hayatı kaleme alınmış. Akıcı, zorlanmadan su gibi akıp giden bir anlatım, zeki bir kurgu ve hoş bir hikayeyle okuru kendine bağlayan bir kitap.
Devamı için; http://sonsayfasiask.blogspot.com.tr/...
March 4, 2009
Even though some of the characters seemed incapable of being flawed, I enjoyed this a lot.
January 5, 2011
Continuing story of two familes in Ireland with conflicts and relationships in various states of upheaval. Interesting to learn more of Irish culture,language, etc. A good read.
December 31, 2012
Would like to read more by this author.
August 27, 2013
A second book in this series, where the Phelans are learning to work together during the daily life trials and past generations tests.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews