The Linen Queen - Tapa dura

"Sheila McGee, the feisty young 'Linen Queen, ' will touch your heart as she grows from a girl who values herself only for her good looks into a compassionate woman who discovers inner reserves of strength. A dramatic story told against the backdrop of World War II in Northern Ireland."--Mary Pat Kelly, author of the bestselling novel Home Away from Home - The Yanks in Ireland and Galway Bay "The Linen Queen is an emotionally powerful book, and a joy to read. Falvey has a gift for creating realistic and very believable characters. By saying its a gift, I dont mean its easy to do this. It is the result of much hard work."-- Irish American News "Frank West "

Sheila cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her life in Northern Ireland. She works in the local linen mill but Sheila craves a place where she will get the love she deserves. London may be under attack by the Germans but it still offers far more opportunity for a clever and attractive young woman such as herself. She wins the title of Linen Queen which does wonders for her self-esteem but her mother has plans for her prize-money, which she would have used to escape and it seems her looks aren't enough to get the necessary papers to enter England in the midst of the war. Sheila continues to look for a means of escape and finds it in the arrival of US troops who arrive in her village. At first she sees only excitement in this new situation and then maybe a different path to freedom in the form of an attractive army officer named Joel. Joel's affection and wisdom begin to affect Sheila and the arrival of a street-wise evacuee from Belfast and her childhood friend, Gavin, further complicate her plans. As the war moves closer to those she has grown to love, Sheila will not only confront more abandonment and loss but also find true strength, compassion and a meaning for her life outside of herself.