mns  2004-11-16 09:46  books   

I began writing Retreat in March 2000 and finished it in September that year. It was published in 2001 by Headline Book Publishing Ltd.

Synopsis

'Come Monday morning after breakfast, silence will commence. It will continue until the following Saturday morning. That gives you five full days of contemplation and prayer. As usual, leaving the Sister Chapel and its grounds is forbidden and, of course, Sutherland Square is expressly out of bounds.'

Such are the rules of the annual Retreat imposed on the teenage boarders at St Martins convent school in Dublin 2. But for some of them, these rules are made to be broken. Kitty, Mary, Bernadette, Bridie and Treasa are five girls from very different backgrounds, united by their need to break out from the often cruel constraints of convent life - and by an experience too awful to talk about until they are adults.

The Critics said:

'Poignant, compelling and humorous, Retreat is an unforgettable read about friendship, support and the loss of innocence.'

Ireland Book Review

'The pages turn with ease.'
The Observer

'Warm, and even at its darkest, never entirely black. An engrossing read.'
Irish Sunday Independent

'Engaging and funny'
Ireland on Sunday

Available from bookshops and online at Amazon.co.uk.

A large print edition has been published by Thorpe.

Retreat is translated as Die Schule der Schweigenden (literally, The School of the Silent Ones) in Germany, published by Schneekluth and available from bookshops and online at Amazon.de

It is translated as Tavshedens Pris (The Price of Silence) in Denmark, and available from bookshops.

It is published in Turkish by Dogan Kitapcilik as Masumiyet Asla Geri Gelmez A.S.

Full details are available from my agent Caroline Montgomery.