A Pennyworth of Sunshine

The Irish Sisters #1

by Anna Jacobs

Keara Michaels doesn't want to leave her family in Ireland, but fate sends her first to Lancashire, then across the sea to Australia, pregnant and penniless. And Theo Mullane, the man who loves her, is married, with an ailing baby son, so cannot follow her as he longs to. Mark Gibson leaves Lancashire to avoid marriage. But gold prospecting is a dangerous pursuit, and when his gentle young wife dies in childbirth, his father-in-law kidnaps the baby. So Mark runs away again, this time to Western Australia, where he employs Keara in his country inn. But danger threatens them all, even in the bush, as Keara searches for her lost sisters, Theo comes looking for the woman he loves, and Mark at last confronts his past.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Anna Jacobs has 87 novels published as of April 2019. She writes historical sagas and modern novels alternately, and in the past has written historical romances and fantasy novels (the latter as Shannah Jay).

She's addicted to story-telling and writes three novels a year. You can find a list of books and series on her website at www.annajacobs.com

Anna reads 3 novels a week. Happy reading, everyone.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️ = Good(4.5)
Audio.
What a lovely start to this series!
This was beautifully told, with the right amount of heartache and joy in equal measures. Easy to listen to as I pottered around doing my housework.
Easy to visualise and thankfully, not over- forced by the narrator.

[Nadine Schrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich mag einfach Auswanderer Geschichten...und gut gemachte historische Romane....beides habe ich in diesem ersten Band der Reihe gefunden!

Keara wächst in ärmlichen Verhältnissen auf....der gewalttätige Vater und die kranke Mutter sind ihr keine Unterstützung.
Als sie eine Anstellung als Zofe im Herrenhaus in ihrer irischen Heimat erhält, verbessert sich ihr Leben....
Doch auch hier beginnen bald die Probleme....

Einfach ein gut gemachter, historischer Roman!

Absolut lesenswert!

[Melliane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mon avis en Français

My English review

J’aime beaucoup les romans que j’ai lus de l’auteure et quand j’ai vu la sortie d’une toute nouvelle série, je n’ai pas hésité longtemps.

Nous traversons cette fois-ci l’Irlande et l’Australie. Keara est une jeune fille qui fait tout pour ses deux sœurs et sa mère malade. Malheureusement, leur père vit aussi avec elles et c’est loin d’être facile. Il leur vole tout leur agent qu’il dépense en boisson, les laissant démunies et sans rien à manger. Alors quand on propose un poste à Keara, elle ne peut pas le refuser, même si elle sait que ça l’éloignera de sa famille. C’est une situation très difficile pour elle. Mais c’est encore plus compliqué de supporter sa maîtresse et de résister à son attirance pour son maître.

En parallèle, on suit aussi Mark, qui décide de tout quitter pour partir pour l’Australie et chercher de l’or. Mais c’est une vie plus difficile qu’il ne le pensait.

C’était vraiment un super roman et j’ai adoré suivre l’histoire et les personnages. Par contre, j’ai trouvé dommage qu’il y ait des problèmes de mises en forme dans la traduction en français. Je suis impatiente de découvrir la suite et de savoir ce qui est arrivé aux deux sœurs de notre héroïne.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read by Anna Jacobs- I have borrowed this trilogy from the library. I can't wait to read the rest in the series now.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read which I started and finished over the bank holiday weekend, as I couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to the next instalment of this trilogy.

[Rosie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rather dated book cover compared to the one I got but it’s a wonderful read and I couldn’t put it down if you like Catherine Cookson you will love this and looking forward to reading the 2 books in the trilogy #KindleUnlimited

[Elaine Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful description of life in early 1860's Australia, with lots of adventure thrown in about three Irish lasses!

[mois reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keara and Theo

Theo was married to someone who was selfish all he wanted was a child but his wife lost so many babies then she had Richard who survived a short while . He met Keara who was his wife's maid fell in love with her but couldn't marry her and Keara wouldn't be his mistress but his wife and her former nanny colluded to get Keara out of the country she was drugged and put on a ship to Australia and found herself pregnant . Theo never stopped looking for her a very good story well worth a read 5 STARS for a fab read .

[Jess Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une nouvelle saga qui nous fait une fois de plus voyager entre Irlande et Australie. J'ai beaucoup aimé le personnage de Keara, jeune fille forte qui fait tout ce qu'elle peut pour aider sa famille. On assiste à sa rencontre avec le père de son enfant, on la voit lutter puis tomber amoureuse. Sur le moment, j'avoue que je n'ai pas aimé le personnage de Nancy, mais au final elle agit pour le bien de tous. J'ai également apprécié de suivre les aventures de Mark et sa relation avec Patience, même si la passion n'était pas au rendez vous, on sent qu'il y avait tout de même de l'affection. J'espère que Faith finira par rejoindre son père en Australie, je suis triste de la savoir "délaissée" de la sorte. La plume de l'autrice est toujours aussi fluide et on ne s'ennuie pas une seconde durant les rebondissements

Ce que j'aime : le personnage de Keara, les deux intrigues qu'on suit en parallèle, le fait de passer de l'Irlande à l'Australie au fil des chapitres

Ce que j'aime moins : le fait que Faith soit la grande oubliée de l'histoire

Pour résumer

Un premier tome qui campe des personnages attachants qu'on a envie de retrouver par la suite

Ma note

8/10

[Cookie1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I got rather fed up with this book. There seems to be a drunken father, a mother who keeps having children, and children who are starving, poorly clothed and not educated in so many books. However, thinking about this I realised that it would apply to so many people of this era that it was only to be expected.
I enjoyed the story of Theo, Lavinia, Keara and her sisters Ismay and Mara. I couldn't believe that someone could be sent of to Australia against their will. But of course a lot of sailors at this time were 'shanghaied' into working on the ships.
I love reading about the early history of Australia and Anna Jacobs does her research extremely well. I can't wait to read the next one in the series now.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keara goes to work in the big house, her Mistress is very difficult, and they go to Lancashire, her family move into a better cottage due to her working for these people, in Ireland her mum becomes ill, her mistress does not tell her and sends her two sisters to Australia and keeps her mothers and fathers deaths from her. She then gets drugged and is off to Australia herself....A very good read

[E.A. Harwik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found A Pennyworth of Sunshine by Anna Jacobs to be a wonderful, engaging, well written story. Loved it. This is book one in a series of books titled The Irish Sisters. I didn't know that when I started reading. I downloaded the second book, Twopenny Rainbows the moment I finished the first, and started reading immediately. This book is pure magic, worth every penny. Five stars.

[Jennifer Mitton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find myself really enjoying this author and her style of books. Really comfy read - lots to keep interest levels up! Really touching stories, won't be the last one I read I'm sure, there is one more in this series I think :)

[Doreen Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fab book, looking forward to reading the next one in this trilogy

[Linda Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sunshine

I enjoyed the book, was sorry it ended
I'm looking forward to reading the next two in the series. Who doesn't like happy encings

[Jenny Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the characters were of some interest, the author skipped from one storyline to another with little rhyme or reason.

[Mathilde Hours · Rating 3 out of 5]

Après avoir découvert la plume d'Anna Jacobs avec la saga Swan Hill, je poursuis ma découverte de l'Australie avec le premier tome des pionnières.

La trame littéraire est la même que la série citée plus haut : l'histoire en alternance de différents personnages qui vont/doivent refaire leur vie en Australie au milieu du XIXe siècle.

Swan Hill m'avait passionnée : ce premier tome ne m'a pas autant convaincue.

Tout d'abord j'ai quelques réserves concernant certains personnages et leurs constructions :
- Théo, qui a des maîtresses à tour de bras et les traite comme des marchandises, mais justifie ça avec le caractère odieux de sa femme, et serait quelqu'un d'admirable ? De même, son obsession de la paternité pour sauver son domaine, tout en regrettant de ne pas l'avoir vendu ne tient pas la route.
- Mark ensuite, charmant au demeurant, qui fuit une femme qu'il a mise enceinte, pareil, je coince.
- J'ai été déçue également par le comportement de Keara que j'avais pris en affection dès le début, admirant sa force de caractère quand elle s'oppose à son père, et son dévouement envers sa mère et ses sœurs.

Malgré ces points négatifs, j'ai quand même apprécié ma lecture.
C'est une belle découverte de l'Australie de l'époque, et l'installation des colons, notamment la vie des orpailleurs.
La place des femmes à l'époque, que ce soit en Irlande ou en Australie, est très bien évoquée ("l'obligation conjugale" qui amène Lavinia à se faire violer tous les soirs par son mari pour lui donner un enfant...).

Un roman qui fait voyager et découvrir !
Je m'attaque au tome 2, pour découvrir ce qu'il est advenu de Mara et Ismay, et les autres.

[Cherrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful saga exclusive to Kindle Unlimited from Anna Jacobs and I absolutely loved it. I already have the second book in the series downloaded on my Kindle and can't wait to read it.

What I liked:-
- The cover on the Kindle version is absolutely beautiful.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/9...
-I loved how the story took you across different locations - Ireland, Lancashire, London and Australia.
-I think it explores the differences in social class very well in this book all the way through and that aspect of it was really interesting to me.
-The romance in this book was just perfect.
-Lots of drama in this book - all of which was great despite some of it being sad it was done beautifully. I would say if anyone is triggered by baby deaths this book has a lot of that in.
-Enjoyed the multiple plot lines that come together nicely at the end when all the characters end up in each other's path towards the end of the book.
-I enjoyed following all of the characters in this book even the ones that were not so nice characters. Keara was my favourite character and I just loved how strong she was.
-There is one open plot line which will lead us into the second book and really looking forward to seeing how that unfolds in the second book.

What I didn't like:-

-I can't think of anything because this book was just fantastic from start to finish.

[Beth Withers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keara is an Irish girl trying to help her family by accepting a job in service. There is love, lust, and the expected romance among several of the characters. It was interesting to learn a bit more than I knew about immigrating to Australia and their reasons for going. What I didn't particularly care for was the extremes in the characters' personalities. They were either horribly evil or almost unbelievably good. It all works out in the end, but it did make reading the book a bit tedious at times.

[Megs C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is very intriguing and I can’t wait to read how it continues. Like other anna jacobs books, I find the writing to be blunt and inelegant at times, which only serves to reinforce the harshness and unfairness of life for the lower and middle classes.

I love historical books set in New Zealand, so historical Australia is a very fun new area for me to explore.

[KFK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1 of 3, of a story based in Ireland, England and Australia. Where people manage to accidentally find each other in Australia, which would be impossible nowadays. Love stories, brave people and lots of learnings in the new world Keara, Mark, Theo, Maggie and so many others are living.
I do love a good drama with a bit of suspense.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this saga Of Keara, Theo Mulhane and of Mark Gibson from her earlier book saga about the Gibsons of Lancashire after he left home to emigrate to Australia. Set in the 1850s and early 1860s Lancashire and Australia.

[Natalya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was very different for me as I've never read a historical romance saga set in Australia before. I got the sense that this book was a lead-up to the rest of the trilogy but it still had a good storyline. Interesting characters and excellent writing made this very enjoyable.

[Mrs Linda Sadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story

Oh my! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about Keara and all the other characters, my heart was in my mouth at times especially what both Lavinia and Alex Jenner did and said. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series

[Mrs C R Upton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, as usual from Anna Jacobs!

[Ann-Marie Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

New fav author , loved it! Can’t wait to read book two now in the saga. Get reading it’s such a good story

[josephine Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a superb story. I look forward to the next book!!

This is the second time I have read this book, 10 years apart. I am now going to read the next book.

[Sarah Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Fantastic read,loving Anna Jacobs books. Once I start I can't put them down,then I read them too fast and can't wait to start the next

[Linda Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved reading this book cant wait to read the next book in the series

[Debra Reedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is truly wonderful.