Nell is nervous in her new job at the local estate of Lord Wicken. As a scullery maid, she works in the kitchen under the sharp eye, and hard hand of Maggie,
who is also from their tiny Irish village of Ballinkeel.
The work is hard, but the pay much needed in the family’s poor, but happy enough life. Nell’s Pa is out of work, and her brother too young to bring in any money at the age of only 10. The estate is the biggest employer in the area, but also the landlord of all the land for miles around. Nell is pleased to be able to help out, but is uncomfortable at becoming the only breadwinner.
The fears of further afield finally come to Ballinkeel. The blight the newspapers shout about arrives, and Nell’s parents aren’t the only farmers watching their hand planted potato crop turn to black, and rot in the soil. They not only rely on the potatoes for food, but also to be able to pay their landlord, Lord Wicken.
Their only hopes are their oat crops, but will it be enough?
With all this on Nell’s mind as she scrubs pots, stirs stews and follows Maggie’s orders, she is in awe of the amount of food dished up to the Lord and his visitors, when everyone she knows and loves is starving.
The light in her day comes from spending time with her friends, her little brother’s antics at home, and most of all – meeting John Browning, the heir to the Wicken fortune.
He’s different from his strict, unfeeling Uncle, and at first Nell keeps her interest to herself. She feels foolish for such thoughts, but after spending more time together, she knows she’s treading on dangerous territory. Falling for an Englishman, when they are deemed the enemy of Ireland, is not wise.
Nell’s heart is soon broken again and again with the result of an all consuming hunger, and actions of desperate, starving, men.
An unflinching YA verse novel, depicting the potato blight and resulting famine that swept Ireland from 1845 – 1861.
Carnegie Medal Winner Sarah Crossan’s Where the Heart Should Be is a love story – between a servant and a wealthy heir to a fortune, and also between her and her family – hit by the famine along with her entire village.
The senseless greed by the landlord against his starving tenants is portrayed in verse, and a succinct way to show true events between Ireland and the controlling England of the time.
At first this heartbreaking novel shares the love among families, the age-old superstitions in Irish daily life and the excitement of a upcoming marriage. Getting to know these characters was vivid in verse and as rich as a full novel, so when their lives fall apart, my heart broke for them all.
A beautiful novel of a painful time in history.
Author – Sarah Crossan
Age – 13+
Verse Novel
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Publisher – Bloomsbury
Verse Novel
Set – Ireland – Fictional town in County Mayo – 1846
Viewpoint – 1st person
Real Life – Based on historical events of the Potato Blight & resulting famine
Fantasy – No
Blend – Historical – based on fact
(2025, Bloomsbury, Historical, English greed, Ireland, Potato Famine, 184o’s, Lord, Estate, Starvation, Hunger, Grief, Loss, Death, Desperation, Love, Forbidden Romance, Kindness, Heir, Family, Scullery Maid)