Kitchen Canary
by Joanne C. Parsons
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Pub Date Apr 17 2017 | Archive Date May 15 2018
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Description
Kitchen Canary is a novel about the power of greed, the toll of guilt and shame, and rewards of reconciliation. At the insistence of her parents, sixteen-year-old Katie O'Neil reluctantly left her beloved Galway.
She joined her cousin, Moira Murphy, in Boston, Massachusetts to work as a nanny and domestic. In mid-nineteenth century Boston, Irish domestics were often referred to as Kitchen Canaries and considered property of their employers. As immigrants to America, the young women encounter rejection, fear, and humiliation. Their lives become entangled in the secrets and lies of their employers at 2102 Beacon Street.
In four short years, Katie and Moira experience violation, despair, love, and acceptance. In this post-Civil War era, Boston is bustling with change as wealthy Englishmen and Boston Brahmins expand world trade routes, build railroads and develop land. Immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland establish neighborhoods, existing in overcrowded, disease-ridden shacks and tenements. They and negroes flocking North, suffer hate, humiliation and rejection from the establishment.
The only value they have to the rich Bostonians is their willingness to work for little money performing menial or back-breaking, dangerous jobs on the docks, and building railroads. This story is about the goodness of others, black, white, Irish and English whose strength prevails to overcome evil and guide Katie and Moira to true redemption.
Advance Praise
On Line Book Club Review- "...Kitchen Canary is a skillfully written little gem."
Amazon Reviewer- "Those relatives we find on the pages of family bibles and ancestry documents jump into our consciousness as we better understand."
Amazon Reviewer- "I loved the pace of the book and how historical details were woven into the characters' daily lives. I find myself thinking about the characters even weeks after finishing the book."
Goodreads Reviewer- "Excellently written story of two young Irish immigrant women who encounter hardships and prejudice in Boston in the nineteenth century. I found this book almost impossible to put down."
"Exceptionally well written, thoroughly absorbing, consistently entertaining" - Midwest Book Review
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9780692860458 |
| PRICE | $2.99 (USD) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Jean M, Reviewer
We may recall that after the potato famine in Ireland, many Irish immigrated to the United States and Boston became home for many of them. But what was it really like to come over as a young person and make one’s way in the land of opportunity?
This book brings the history and the immigrant story to life, in an engaging and captivating way.
Moira immigrated first and then arranged for Katie to come too, and work in the same wealthy household in Boston as a nanny. Katie loved Ireland and didn’t want to leave, but it was the only way for her to support her family. The ship voyage was a misery, and life in the Brennan house turned out to be horrible, too. How Moira and Katie coped with their new lives made for a fascinating read.
The vivid characters, with interesting backstories, fascinated me. The author avoids stereotypes by digging deeper into the characters’ motivations. Some of the story is told in the third-person and some in the first person.
The author took an even-handed approach to the history of the times and her characters. Yes, the immigrant story wasn’t as rosy as we might want it to be, but the book shows that with love, hope and God’s grace, people can triumph. Highly recommend.
Anni S, Reviewer
What a brilliant book. It is horrifying how these people were treated by their employers in 19th century Boston. A well crafted book with a great storyline and characters. Heart rending stuff
Sheila J, Reviewer
Wow I loved this story. Its heartbreaking but I couldn't stop reading the story. I imagined my Irish grandmother and her ancestors who made the terrifying trip to immigrant here in the U S. The story will stay with you long after you close the book. Thank you netgalley fir tge opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions are my own
Brenda M, Reviewer
Many thanks go to Joanne C. Parsons and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for the copy of this book. Katie O'Neil is sent by her family to America from Ireland for a chance at a better life. She finds lodging and work as a maid and nanny with an affluent family in Boston with her cousin, Moira. But when Moira shows Katie to her room her first night she makes she makes Katie promise to lock her door. And rumors are stirring about why the previous maid left. Mr. Brennan isn't a fan of the Irish, and his wife is never seen outside of her room. Something is off. Can Katie and Moira find happiness and learn to forgive? I think this is a debut novel? What a great start for Parsons! I loved the storyline. So much truth to what she wrote. I know these situations occurred in our country's history. So unfortunate. Moira's sadness was palpable. I look forward to more historical fiction by this author.
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