OR

Kindle Price:	$0.99
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Maria Hall

Follow

Irish Shorts: Nora's Escape and other true stories of love, loss and resistance Kindle Edition

by Maria Hall (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 102 ratings

See all formats and editions

Six true stories from an Irish Catholic family caught in the iron grip of a changing world.
Told with unvarnished honesty, dry humour and a good dose of drama, we meet a young girl as she escapes her oppressive father to start life anew in the wilds of New Zealand. We see a family’s Christian values tested upon discovering their house broken into, and the culprit lurking close by. The decades pass, and world wars turn into religious ones as author Maria Hall travels to bomb-blasted Belfast in search of her heritage and connection to one of Ireland’s most famous artists. But is their family hero the man they thought him to be?
These are just some of the treasures revealed by Hall as she picks through family legend and fact to uncover tales of resistance, love and survival across three awe-inspiring generations.

Print length

56 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

November 16, 2016
File size

1357 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Report an issue with this product or seller

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01MQK39BH
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Haven Publishing (November 16, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 16, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1357 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 56 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,139,654 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,006 in Extended Families
- #1,989 in 90-Minute Parenting & Relationships Short Reads
- #2,300 in 90-Minute Biography & Memoir Short Reads

Customer Reviews:
4.4 102 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Maria Hall

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Maria is currently working on her third book which has grown out of a collection of unpublished short stories.

She is the product of immigrant grandparents, mostly Irish, mostly Catholic, but also Scottish and English, who settled at the bottom of the world in New Zealand. Her writing highlights that spirit of endurance and risk-taking, and her life mirrors something of that journey.

After leaving school Maria studied music at Auckland University and teacher training. She lives with her partner, Nicholas, on the water’s edge in the inner harbour of Auckland where her upstairs writing room faces soaring pines, a shifting tide and setting sun.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5

102 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Luv2read

Enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2017

Verified Purchase

Irish Shorts: Nora's Escape and other true stories of love, loss and resistance by Maria Hall is a great compilation of short stories that are actually snapshots of her families background pieced together in a wonderful well-written book. What starts out with the info that these are real stories then begins with Nora’s Escape and crisp engaging dialogue has me right into the read. Dialogue like, “I’ll never talk to ya again and I’ll leave ya nothin,” begins our adventure here with Nora and her parents: mother Agnes and father Joseph. She has set sail from Belfast to Australia in 1914, a time when young women didn’t readily travel unmarried. When we find out the reason for her departure we’re invested in the characters and want to find out what is going to happen. No interest is lost as the story progresses along and the short stories move with continuity. What makes this read all the more charming are the real photos, historical vignettes in themselves that bring the characters alive. I absolutely loved reading on about The Wartime Bride, which starts with a heart-wrenching telegram and never loses pace, again highlighted with fabulous real photos including a Lancaster bomber over England. His tale moves along to The Midwife with another exciting beginning that involves what reads like a medical emergency. The action doesn’t let up and continues on to The Intruder, The matriarch, and the Lavery Connection with more photos giving scenes and dialogue a real sense of history. What an enjoyable read.

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

“Irish Shorts” is a very well-written collection of short stories, describing life, traditions and religious views of one particular family. It is a great read for anyone who is interested in history, as each story offers a snippet of such historical events as WWI or the Great War, waves of immigration to New Zealand and into the United States, WWII, and many more.
From a religious point of view, this collection sheds a light onto many relevant topics: clashes between Catholics and Protestants in the UK, influence of religion on aspects of everyday life (where the protagonist had a problem with accepting a stranger in her house or was scolded for watching a movie that was deemed inappropriate by her religious grandmother), and making a choice between a promising career and one’s moral obligations.
What I also appreciated was a number of pictures dotted throughout the narration, which made my reading experience even more pleasurable. I would definitely recommend this short story collection. Five stars.

Helpful

writes4coffee

The love and pride shines through

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2016

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this quick read of short stories. They center around an Irish Catholic family and span several generations. It's an engaging book, one that showcases Nora's strength of character and the devotion to her faith. Maria Hall's love and pride for her family shine through each of the stories.

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

Irish Shorts: Nora's Escape and other true stories of love, loss and resistance by Maria Hall is a well written, poignant, and immersible read. With likable, and relatable characters, such as Ryan who died in war on the last day, made the stories come alive. I too have experienced war, and personally knew people who had died with only days left before leaving for home. I could only imagine their loved ones planning home coming events, and get notification of their death. Sad. Albeit, as I read I kept thinking about my aunt Murphy telling us stories when I was a kid about her village in Ireland. She must have kissed the blarney stone because her accent would thicken, and she'd go on weaving fascinating stories. They were all wonderful just like this great read. And I truly enjoyed the walk down memory lane.

Helpful

AVID READER

Absolutely an important read

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2018

Verified Purchase

I love Ireland and reading about its complex history. For me, this was an incredible window to the different generations of one Catholic family in a beautiful but complex country and I want to thank the author for opening that window for us.
It’s a memoir broken into short stories that give you a glimpse of a unique and sometimes not so easy reality. I’ve only seen the reality of Ireland in movies or read in mostly objective historical books and reading it from a person’s personal perspective and personal history is amazing. You get to feel all the range of emotions and just want to read more about the strong Irish women you’re introduced to and the life they’ve lived. In fact, I think I would have loved to meet them.

Helpful

Nikki

A touching little novella...

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have to admit the cover drew me in at first glance. It's lovely. I'm also quite intrigued by stories of ancestry, especially with histories of war, love and loss, and perseverance. This little gem of a novella tells the tale of several generations spanning most of the twentieth century. It's wonderful to see the author embrace history and family triumphs as well as disasters.

Life is rarely simple. The human spirit can endure much and I loved to see how these strong Irish women carried through their lives, despite hardship and chaos, uncertainty and fear, to overcome and succeed. Such a wonderful set of tales. Quite an interesting and intriguing glimpse into the lives of those who have gone before us. I thoroughly enjoyed Irish Shorts.

Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2017

Verified Purchase

Well done Maria for tying a set of beautifully written short stories together across the generations. I enjoyed this. - Maryanne

Helpful

SacredGeometryBlog

I was nicely surprised by this lovely book of short stories mainly ...

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

I was nicely surprised by this lovely book of short stories mainly because of its authenticity and uniqueness. The stories are well-written and fast paced. I like that they are inspired by the author’s ancestors and heritage, and that they are even provided with old photographs of the real people and places. This gives it the touch of reality, which I loved. I enjoy reading stories inspired by real-life events, and these were especially nice, because I could feel that they were personal and important to the author as I was reading them. They all have depth, heart, and spiritual feel to them. I honestly enjoyed the book very much.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Enesha

A great true historic read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2018

Verified Purchase

Nora's Escape

If you like short stories that hold some truth and also history then these shorts are for you Nora's Escape is well written and captivating. The story is told through Nora's mother, Agnes's eyes. The story of Nora is well told, Agnes explains why she helped her daughter escape. The short tells a story of religion and love. A mother's struggle and a father stuck on old fashion rules. All in all I enjoyed Nora's story of freedom from an over bearing father.

The Wartime Bride

The Wartime Bride, had me griped from the first line "Mum, Ryan's dead," Instantly I wanted to know who was dead and why? This story follows on from Nora's Escape through Nora's Daughter Pat's eyes. A naïve young girl who loses her husband and learns to love and live again.

The Midwife

The Midwife tells the story of one of Pat's home birth's, the struggles she had and the mistake of the midwife. From this story you get to see more of Pat's and Nora's personalities. Two headstrong women.

The Intruder

This story shows just how big of an heart Pat has, although she already has five children to take care of, she allows a young man to move in with them. Offering him a better life than he has, with a new start. Told through the eyes of Pat's daughter Maria. A story of kindness, trust and regret.

The Matriarch

The Matriarch is told through Maria's eyes, it holds many catholic beliefs, and the consequences of sins. The story shows just how much a strong character Nora was in her daughter and grandchildren's lives.

The Lavery Connection

The last short story tells the story of a family hidden secrete. Maria uncovers the secrete while vising her Aunt and researching her Irish routes.

I enjoyed reading the generations of this families stories. The struggles they faced. The loved ones they lost. What I loved most of all was the strength and kindness this family held. A story that shows how times change with each new generation and just how much our ancestor's (Grandparents and so on.." have an effect on outlives even years after they are gone.

A great true historic read.

Alidottir

A charning and engaging collection of short stories.

Reviewed in Germany on May 31, 2018

Verified Purchase

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. There are six linked stories, showing the history of three generations of an Irish family in Ireland and New Zealand, and based on true stories. The characters come alive through the beautifully-written descriptions and the vivid dialogue. The addition of photographs makes the accounts even more personal and interesting. A charming and engaging collection.

Maria

Irish Shorts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2018

Verified Purchase

This is a charming collection of tales about the author's female ancestors. If they were mine, I'd be jolly proud too.
The book starts with Agnes helping her daughter escape from Belfast to New Zeeland in 1914, alone and with only ten shillings in her pocket. Wow! What an incredibly brave thing to do. This sets the tone for the bravery and independence of three generations of women.
Although the stories are short, the author gives just enough to set the stories historically. Although the stories focus on the women, we also hear of the menfolk, those who survived and those lost in the world wars.
The family are predominantly Irish Catholics and the beliefs and the practices come through very strongly, along with the troubled times in Belfast in the 1970s.
Scattered throughout the text are family photographs which give the book a lovely, personal touch.
A great deal packed into a small package.

Carol

This was my first memoir! I am excited I gave it a try.

Reviewed in Canada on April 5, 2017

Verified Purchase

Set out as a group of short stories that span three generation, this historical memoir is written with readers in mind. Each story is a captivating look at the traditions, beliefs and experiences of a time that this generation can only experience through authors like Maria Hall. If you have an Irish background, this book is for you! If you are planning on visiting Ireland this book is for you!

Read them one at a time or all at once, either way I think you'll come away with a new appreciation for what these Irish ancestors went through in everyday life. You might just come away with an itch to find your own roots - I know I did.

A solid 4/5 Stars

Bill

Heart warming stories!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have really come to enjoy short stories over the last couple of years and this collection was particularly interesting as they were true stories about the author's family. The stories were both dramatic and touching in places, providing an insight not just into family life but also the times in which they lived. This is a catholic family from Ireland and their faith is at the heart of their lives. There is humor in the rigid, old fashioned, catholic view of a naked body and drama caused by wars and troubles in Ireland. I was uplifted by the stories and pleased the family survived hardship and difficult times through their faith and love of each other. A very enjoyable read!

OR

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Irish Shorts: Nora's Escape and other true stories of love, loss and resistance Kindle Edition

Product details

Videos

About the author

Maria Hall

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries