Set in January 1965, A House in Winter tells the story of the visit of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden to his sister's home in Abbeyleix, Ireland, when they faced local opposition and IRA petrol bomb attacks that confined them, without electricity, for 48 fraught hours.
As well as the conflict outside the walls, there's plenty within, with Margaret's difficult mother in law gleefully contributing to her disintegrating marriage. Meanwhile in the nearby village local woman Cait has struggles of her own, unable to escape family responsibilities and small town life.
Inspired by real events, A House in Winter is an atmospheric and richly observed novel about duty, marriage and the different forms of captivity. Blending royal intrigue with compelling Irish community drama, it will appeal to readers of The Crown, Wendy Holden's The Duchess, Daisy Goodwin's Victoria and the warm, character-driven storytelling of Maeve Binchy.
Emily Hourican is the author of ten novels, including The Glorious Guinness Girls, The Kennedy Affair, The Privileged, The Blamed and The Outsider, one book of non-fiction, How To Really Be A Mother, and a children's book, Murder At The Ivy Hotel.
Emily has been an editor and a journalist for over 20 years.
Emily was born in Belfast and grew up in Brussels, where she went to the European School along with all the other Eurobrats.
She moved to Dublin in 1990 and studied English and History at UCD, then did a Masters in English Literature, also at UCD. She lives in Dublin with her husband, David, and their three children.
