Wild Geese

by Lara Harte (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $24.13

  Fanny Burney meets Maria Edgeworth in an atmospheric and enchanting novel, set on the eve of the French Revolution. Isabella, a headstrong but intelligent Irish girl flees Dublin and an unwanted marriage to join her estranged father in Paris (where many ex-pat Irish have sheltered following penal restrictions in Ireland). Isabella is a classic innocent abroad - a pre-feminist heroine with a mind of her own. When she arrives in Paris she finds her father's beautiful and accomplished but penniless Irish cousins, mother and daughter, already in situ. Also in Paris is the handsome young Irish doctor with whom Isabella is in love and in whose way she was thrown during her flight from Dublin. The idealistic Isabella quickly discovers that there is more to her mysterious father than she thought. She also discovers, to her growing horror, the true origin of her family's recently-acquired fortune. Love, social reform and slavery mingle in this dazzling and intelligent tour de force.

• Used

  Paperback
  2004

  $3.33

  Following the death of her mother at an early age, Isabella Carroll was brought up by her wealthy Dublin aunt and uncle. The latter are keen to climb the ranks of Dublin society by making a suitably 'good' marriage for their niece. Isabella, however, is drawn to stories of her father who made his money on the plantations of Saint-Domingue, and to the idea of the 'Wild Geese', the Irish brigades who left their homes in search of a better life in France. When her aunt tries to set Isabella up with the wealthy but louche Gregory Murtogh, then the coldly calculating Mr M'Guire, Isabella decides to take her fate into her own hands. To the glee of the Dublin gossipmongers, Isabella sets off for Paris under the protection of the handsome but poor Dr Connor. But when she finally meets her father, she is in for a rude awakening about the source of his wealth. Added to that is the cool reception she receives from her father's cousin and her daughter, two women who want to exploit Isabella's innocence and idealism and gain access to her inheritance.