Ellis Island: A Novel

With her husband injured serving the IRA, an Irish woman is forced to become an American socialite’s maid in this epic saga set in the 1920s.

Sweethearts since childhood, Ellie Hogan and her husband, John, are content on their farm in Ireland—until John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, receives an injury that leaves him unable to work. Forced to take drastic measures to survive, Ellie does what so many Irish women in the 1920s have done and sails across a vast ocean to New York City to work as a maid for a wealthy socialite.

Once there, Ellie is introduced to world of opulence and sophistication, tempted by the allure of grand parties and fine clothes, money, and mansions…and by the attentions of a charming suitor who can give her everything. Yet her heart remains with her husband back home. And now she faces the most difficult choice she will ever have to make: a new life in a new country full of hope and promise, or return to a life of cruel poverty . . . and love.

Praise for Ellis Island

“A love story shot through with a perfect sense of the period, it is a rare combination of historical enlightenment and sheer enjoyment.” —Peter Quinn, author of The Man Who Never Returned

“Kerrigan is a lovely writer and her book breaks from the traditional mold.” —Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

“Kerrigan is excellent at evoking both rustic Ireland and twentieth-century New York.” —Publishers Weekly

© 2023 William Morrow Paperbacks (Ebook): 9780062071545

Release date

Ebook: August 18, 2023