Product Description
Against a background of horse dealing and competitive riding, Kate Thompson explores the dilemma of teenager Michael Duggan experiencing his first love affair and a strong but bewildering need for independence.
From the Back Cover.
Twice winner of the Irish Children’s Book of the Year, Bisto Award for:
The Beguilers 2002
The Alchemist’s Apprentice 2003.
`Kate Thompson is a storyteller of genius` Eileen Battersby. IRISH TIMES.
The sides are steep, the water’s deep. From bank to brae the water’s pouring. And the bonny grey mare she sweats for fear, she stands to hear the water roaring.
As he rides along the unknown green lane behind the wired-up gate, Michael finds a brief respite from the pressures of school and his family’s horse-dealing business.
At the end of the lane he meets Annie, who is destined to bring colour and warmth into his troubled life.
But is she, as she believes herself to be, bad luck?
Between her home and Michael’s lies Annan Water, a deep and mysterious river. In its dark past, it seems as though the story of their love for each other might have already been told.
Against a fascinating background of horse-dealing and show-jumping, Kate Thompson explores the theme about which she feels deeply and of which she has proved herself a great master – that of a young person on the brink of adulthood trying to find independence and meaning in life.
Kate Thompson is one of the most exciting authors to emerge for some time for she is a born storyteller and is highly original and thought-provoking in her ideas.
She has travelled widely in the USA and India and has studied law in London. After living in County Clare, she has now moved to Kinvarra in County Galway and there, three years ago, she discovered her passion for playing the fiddle.
She is now an accomplished player and also has a great interest in restoring instruments.