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Edge of Glass
THE CULLODEN CUP
showed the art of the Irish glassmaker at its peak. But now the great Sheridan factory at Cloncath lies idle - the craftsmen are old, the buildings decaying around them, and the family have no money to revive the industry.
MAURA D'ARCY
last of the family, now on the verge of a brilliant modelling career, journeys to Cloncath to reclaim the Culloden Cup, stolen from her mother. The glassworks have a strange fascination for her, as does her unknown cousin.
CONNOR SHERIDAN
desperately seeking a way to save the Sheridan name, is a man trapped by past glory and the harsh realities of the present. He sees Maura only as a dangerous rival, and in his relentless determination to rebuild the glassworks to their former glory, Connor is a man who cannot afford to lose a single battle...
showed the art of the Irish glassmaker at its peak. But now the great Sheridan factory at Cloncath lies idle - the craftsmen are old, the buildings decaying around them, and the family have no money to revive the industry.
MAURA D'ARCY
last of the family, now on the verge of a brilliant modelling career, journeys to Cloncath to reclaim the Culloden Cup, stolen from her mother. The glassworks have a strange fascination for her, as does her unknown cousin.
CONNOR SHERIDAN
desperately seeking a way to save the Sheridan name, is a man trapped by past glory and the harsh realities of the present. He sees Maura only as a dangerous rival, and in his relentless determination to rebuild the glassworks to their former glory, Connor is a man who cannot afford to lose a single battle...
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1967
95 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Gaskin
94 books71 followersCatherine Gaskin (2 April 1929 – 6 September 2009) historical fiction and romantic suspense.
She was born in Dundalk Bay, Louth, Ireland in 1929. When she was only three months old, her parents moved to Australia, settling in Coogee, a suburb of Sydney, where she grew up. Her first novel This Other Eden, was written when she was 15 and published two years later. After her second novel, With Every Year, was published, she moved to London. Three best-sellers followed: Dust in Sunlight (1950), All Else is Folly (1951), and Daughter of the House (1952). She completed her best known work, Sara Dane, on her 25th birthday in 1954, and it was published in 1955. It sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into a number of other languages, and was made into a television series in Australia in 1982. Other novels included A Falcon for the Queen (1972) and The Summer of the Spanish Woman (1977).
Catherine Gaskin moved to Manhattan for ten years, after marrying an American. She then moved to the Virgin Islands, then in 1967 to Ireland, where she became an Irish citizen. She also lived on the Isle of Man. Her last novel was The Charmed Circle (1988). She then returned to Sydney, where she died in September 2009, aged 80, of ovarian cancer.
She was born in Dundalk Bay, Louth, Ireland in 1929. When she was only three months old, her parents moved to Australia, settling in Coogee, a suburb of Sydney, where she grew up. Her first novel This Other Eden, was written when she was 15 and published two years later. After her second novel, With Every Year, was published, she moved to London. Three best-sellers followed: Dust in Sunlight (1950), All Else is Folly (1951), and Daughter of the House (1952). She completed her best known work, Sara Dane, on her 25th birthday in 1954, and it was published in 1955. It sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into a number of other languages, and was made into a television series in Australia in 1982. Other novels included A Falcon for the Queen (1972) and The Summer of the Spanish Woman (1977).
Catherine Gaskin moved to Manhattan for ten years, after marrying an American. She then moved to the Virgin Islands, then in 1967 to Ireland, where she became an Irish citizen. She also lived on the Isle of Man. Her last novel was The Charmed Circle (1988). She then returned to Sydney, where she died in September 2009, aged 80, of ovarian cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 25, 2016
3.5 Stars
When a handsome stranger with scarred hands walks into Maura's antique shop, deliberately breaking a glass vase, she immediately feels a connection to this man and knows that her future is about to change. A priceless cup is stolen and a trail of crumbs is laid to draw Maura back to Ireland, back to the ancestral home she never knew, a derelict glassworks and her slightly unhinged grandmother.
On arriving she is momentarily mistaken by a German man who thinks she is his dead daughter. This begets another mystery. Who was Lottie, and was her death an accident or foul play?
Arguments, accidents and cover ups. Who can one trust when everyone has something to hide?
I enjoyed this as I enjoy most books by this author. Glassblowing fascinates me so this seemed right up my alley. I have to say though, if glass is your thing you might enjoy "Marietta, maid of Venice" by Francis Marion Crawford even more. There is a time difference of about 400 years but the descriptions of the old time craft are wonderful and have really changed very little over time.
In this novel, the story takes place in the 1960s, so be prepared for LOTS of smoking and LOTS of drinking. It gets very tiresome at times. This took it down a bit for me but the story itself is interesting.
When a handsome stranger with scarred hands walks into Maura's antique shop, deliberately breaking a glass vase, she immediately feels a connection to this man and knows that her future is about to change. A priceless cup is stolen and a trail of crumbs is laid to draw Maura back to Ireland, back to the ancestral home she never knew, a derelict glassworks and her slightly unhinged grandmother.
On arriving she is momentarily mistaken by a German man who thinks she is his dead daughter. This begets another mystery. Who was Lottie, and was her death an accident or foul play?
Arguments, accidents and cover ups. Who can one trust when everyone has something to hide?
I enjoyed this as I enjoy most books by this author. Glassblowing fascinates me so this seemed right up my alley. I have to say though, if glass is your thing you might enjoy "Marietta, maid of Venice" by Francis Marion Crawford even more. There is a time difference of about 400 years but the descriptions of the old time craft are wonderful and have really changed very little over time.
In this novel, the story takes place in the 1960s, so be prepared for LOTS of smoking and LOTS of drinking. It gets very tiresome at times. This took it down a bit for me but the story itself is interesting.
November 3, 2020
Edge of Glass is a romantic suspense novel written in the 1960's and also set in the 60's. Maura discovers after the death of her mother that she descends from the Sheridan dynasty, the owners of the legendary Sheridan glassworks. Her mother, Blanche, had been disowned for getting involved with someone other than the one her mother had selected and getting pregnant.Blanche had concealed all of this all of Maura's life, and naturally, she is shocked to find there is not only the historic glassworks still in production, but an ancestral home as well. She feels attracted to 2 different men that are connected to her new-found family, and those men have bad blood between them.
I am giving the book a mediocre review as I did not care for one scene where Connor (one of the men) gets angry and slams Maura's head against a doorframe. Why would she even consider getting involved with the man after that? He obviously has anger issues, and no problem with abusing a woman. I also would have preferred a different ending, where she gets her cake and eats it too-- fighting for her ancestral home that she is heir too and half ownership in the glassworks instead of just walking away from it all.
I am giving the book a mediocre review as I did not care for one scene where Connor (one of the men) gets angry and slams Maura's head against a doorframe. Why would she even consider getting involved with the man after that? He obviously has anger issues, and no problem with abusing a woman. I also would have preferred a different ending, where she gets her cake and eats it too-- fighting for her ancestral home that she is heir too and half ownership in the glassworks instead of just walking away from it all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2021
An adage concerning Ireland:
“Take in the sunshine. In Ireland you must always take the sun when it offers; there are plenty of days when one would rather not look out the windows. Those are the days for the paintings.”
Of Maura’s first glimpse of Meremount, her ancestral home:
“A ‘Queen Anne House,’ as pleasing as a child’s drawing of a house.”
Meremount’s dining room, its grandeur recaptured as dusk settles in:
“I watched as Connor reached into his pocket and brought out matches. Slowly, softly, the candles in the two prism-hung candelabra came to life. The chaos of the crowded room slipped back into the shadows; what was left was the height and grace of its proportions, the long slender rectangles of twilight at the windows, and the two of us, facing each other, washed with the glow of the candles.
A quiet closed over us, a small interlude more serene than anything I had known since I entered this house…”
Of the time when one beholds the work of a glass blowing artiste:
“A complex ballet performed with intricate rhythm and timing. Its as if they played with a ball of fire, between master and servitor…then the sharp blow that freed the vase or bowl from its umbilical tool…a dance in medieval darkness. Fearful, swift and wonderful…”
And of a busy London merchant street, the opening pages of the story:
Maura stared through the shop’s front window, noticing the name, “Blanche D’Arcy,” lettered in gold on the long black board above the shop. The letters themselves were backwards and disoriented as a reflection in the windows of the shop on the other side of the street. The letters, and the name itself were recognizable, yet diminished somehow.
So, to, did the sense of diminishment pervade the shop that Maura, an English girl in her early twenties, now kept for her late mother. She’d passed four months before, and since then, Maura and her mother’s long-time assistant, Mary Hughes, had done their best to keep things going. But the customers were becoming fewer and fewer, as the absence of the antique shop’s heart and soul became increasingly evident.
And it was one of those days, one that felt just like any other, that the stranger walked into the shop.
He was tall, Maura immediately noted, his face striking, even from the considerable distance between them, she could tell. She began walking toward him, and as she drew nearer, she noticed he was wearing a good tweed suit, even though he wore it carelessly. His raincoat was finely cut, and also soiled in a fashionable sort of way.
He was just looking, he kindly informed her, and strangely, after a few minutes the stranger broke a piece of Irish glass that was on display. He apologized and immediately offered to pay for the damages, an infraction that would cost him three guineas, but would keep her closer.
The pieces of glass were soon forgotten by both of them, but he did not forget his interest in Irish made glass, “Would you ever, then, have any more Irish glass?” He smoothly asked.
The inquiry reminded Maura of the small collection of Sheridan Irish glass, a set of pieces that most closely resembled the goblet the stranger broke a few minutes ago. It was located in a cabinet at the rear of the shop. She led the stranger to the glass fronted display and noticed that his eyes darted to one piece in particular, the finest, and most intricate of all the pieces in the lot.
Once she unlocked the cabinet and slid the glass partition away, he reached for it, handling it with the grasp of an expert that caused her to not fear that any further dropping would happen, “was the earlier accident not an accident at all?” she wondered. Just then, he broke into her thoughts, “Let me tell you about this.” He then flicked his fingernail against the goblet, causing a sweet ring of crystal to reverberate through the small alcove at the rear of the shop.
“The original of this is known to glass-fanciers as the Culloden Cup.” He began, his voice lowering into a reverential hush as he tiled the piece in his hand, placing it in the best light possible. “It, and its two copies were the main reason the Sheridan Family of glassmakers were forced to leave England and resettle in Ireland – and lucky they were allowed to do so without a charge of treason,” he added mysteriously.
Maura looked into the eyes of the man, betraying the amazement in her own. They seemed suspended in that moment as he explained about the stricken oak, the Jacobite symbol engraved in the glass of the goblet. He explained some of the history, a short story that culminated in the end of the “Jacobite dream,” and the resulting flight of the Sheridan family back to Ireland. They’d chosen to Back the wrong challenger for the crown, and knew it was best to depart before the new king had the chance to establish his rule.
Maura was transfixed as she stood before him, not only because of the incredible story he told, but because of the storytelling tone of his voice as he explained that one of the goblets was discovered among the items in the prince’s abandoned luggage and was subsequently destroyed. The other goblet, he explained was lost to history and the third was still in the hands of the Sheridan family, back in Ireland.
“Then this one has to be…” Maura heard herself interrupt, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“The one previously believed to be lost,” the stranger replied, finishing what she started.
Still in a moment of deep connection with the shop owner, the stranger hoped the magic would continue as he asked if he could purchase the storied goblet from her. Maura did her best to re-establish her tone as a merchant, clumsily informing the suave stranger that the goblet was part of her late mother’s personal collection and that it was not for sale.
The stranger took it all in stride and before Maura realized it, he was counting out the banknotes to pay for the previously damaged item.
He then slipped out the door, as quickly as he’s appeared, he was gone. Maura spent the next few hours minding the shop, then was off to her real job, working on assignment as a model for a television advertisement.
She thought of how ill prepared she was to take over her mother’s shop. She’d been trained as a fashion model, not schooled in the values and historical significance of antiquities. These were her practical, day to day considerations since her mom passed.
But today, at the very front of her mind was the mysterious and intriguing man who visited the shop earlier that day and the amazing discovery of the Culloden Cup. It was impossible for her to think of anything else. She went through the motions with the modelling assignment, her mind elsewhere.
And that day in the shop would mark a significant turn in Maura’s life. She couldn’t have known it that day, but in the weeks that followed, she would be drawn into a fantastic set of situations that would alter the circumstances of her life.
Catherine Gaskin did a wonderful job of turning me, her reader from left to right as I progressed through the story. Here were just a few of my favorite aspects of this fascinating story:
There was Maura’s agent, Claude of the Morton Agency who could be a charmer in one moment, and a tyrant in the next. He was a man who was generous with his expense account, wining and dining fashion editors, designers and film directors. A courtesy he seldom extended to the models who worked for him. Gaskin did a superb job of helping me to not like this man.
Then there was the Assistant Director who makes a rather courtly pass at the “girl from the Marsh’s Chocolate advertisement. A Sergeant’s description of the most difficult thieves to catch, “those who never steal for profit, but just for the joy of possession.” I was rather taken with the almost magical hat box treasure trove of untold family secrets, the little old senior who seemed to transform from gnomish little man to commanding captain of industry. There was a hilarious dinner faux pau and a sleek cat named Sapphire. There was a lie that bound three men together and the imperious, slightly imbalanced Grande dame of Meremount that collected fine household items and lived her every day out of sync with the times that had changed all around her without her notice.
There were a number of fantastic dishes that as I read, made my mouth water. My favorite was, “poached eggs with Swiss cheese and wine stock fondue on mushrooms with minced garlic shallot.”
But most of all, I was captivated by the questions that lingered in my mind as I read:
Was there some relationship between Maura’s late mom Blanche and the stranger who visited the shop? Had Maura’s mom known the value of the Culloden Cup in her shop, and if so, why would she not have told her daughter, or at least her trusted assistant of this historically significant artifact in the store. Who was the strange visitor to the store and why had he pretended to accidentally break the Irish crystal?
And as I progressed through this amazingly atmospheric and intriguing story, the questions kept coming. That’s the sign of an excellent story.
As a main character, Maura D’Arcy held my interest and won my admiration because of her courage, sense of adventure, her honest human reactions to the strange circumstances she was placed in, her pragmatic and level-headed perspective on the fashion modelling industry, her quick-witted handling of the sweet talkers, opportunists, adversaries and autocrats who cross her path. She has the capacity to be amazed by things other people overlook and she is a good listener. She’s not perfect, and she makes mistakes in this story, but she is a person who learns from her errors. But most importantly, she can cook an exquisite omelette breakfast from scratch…
I gave “Edge of Glass” five out of five stars. But it was probably really a five and a half for me.
“Take in the sunshine. In Ireland you must always take the sun when it offers; there are plenty of days when one would rather not look out the windows. Those are the days for the paintings.”
Of Maura’s first glimpse of Meremount, her ancestral home:
“A ‘Queen Anne House,’ as pleasing as a child’s drawing of a house.”
Meremount’s dining room, its grandeur recaptured as dusk settles in:
“I watched as Connor reached into his pocket and brought out matches. Slowly, softly, the candles in the two prism-hung candelabra came to life. The chaos of the crowded room slipped back into the shadows; what was left was the height and grace of its proportions, the long slender rectangles of twilight at the windows, and the two of us, facing each other, washed with the glow of the candles.
A quiet closed over us, a small interlude more serene than anything I had known since I entered this house…”
Of the time when one beholds the work of a glass blowing artiste:
“A complex ballet performed with intricate rhythm and timing. Its as if they played with a ball of fire, between master and servitor…then the sharp blow that freed the vase or bowl from its umbilical tool…a dance in medieval darkness. Fearful, swift and wonderful…”
And of a busy London merchant street, the opening pages of the story:
Maura stared through the shop’s front window, noticing the name, “Blanche D’Arcy,” lettered in gold on the long black board above the shop. The letters themselves were backwards and disoriented as a reflection in the windows of the shop on the other side of the street. The letters, and the name itself were recognizable, yet diminished somehow.
So, to, did the sense of diminishment pervade the shop that Maura, an English girl in her early twenties, now kept for her late mother. She’d passed four months before, and since then, Maura and her mother’s long-time assistant, Mary Hughes, had done their best to keep things going. But the customers were becoming fewer and fewer, as the absence of the antique shop’s heart and soul became increasingly evident.
And it was one of those days, one that felt just like any other, that the stranger walked into the shop.
He was tall, Maura immediately noted, his face striking, even from the considerable distance between them, she could tell. She began walking toward him, and as she drew nearer, she noticed he was wearing a good tweed suit, even though he wore it carelessly. His raincoat was finely cut, and also soiled in a fashionable sort of way.
He was just looking, he kindly informed her, and strangely, after a few minutes the stranger broke a piece of Irish glass that was on display. He apologized and immediately offered to pay for the damages, an infraction that would cost him three guineas, but would keep her closer.
The pieces of glass were soon forgotten by both of them, but he did not forget his interest in Irish made glass, “Would you ever, then, have any more Irish glass?” He smoothly asked.
The inquiry reminded Maura of the small collection of Sheridan Irish glass, a set of pieces that most closely resembled the goblet the stranger broke a few minutes ago. It was located in a cabinet at the rear of the shop. She led the stranger to the glass fronted display and noticed that his eyes darted to one piece in particular, the finest, and most intricate of all the pieces in the lot.
Once she unlocked the cabinet and slid the glass partition away, he reached for it, handling it with the grasp of an expert that caused her to not fear that any further dropping would happen, “was the earlier accident not an accident at all?” she wondered. Just then, he broke into her thoughts, “Let me tell you about this.” He then flicked his fingernail against the goblet, causing a sweet ring of crystal to reverberate through the small alcove at the rear of the shop.
“The original of this is known to glass-fanciers as the Culloden Cup.” He began, his voice lowering into a reverential hush as he tiled the piece in his hand, placing it in the best light possible. “It, and its two copies were the main reason the Sheridan Family of glassmakers were forced to leave England and resettle in Ireland – and lucky they were allowed to do so without a charge of treason,” he added mysteriously.
Maura looked into the eyes of the man, betraying the amazement in her own. They seemed suspended in that moment as he explained about the stricken oak, the Jacobite symbol engraved in the glass of the goblet. He explained some of the history, a short story that culminated in the end of the “Jacobite dream,” and the resulting flight of the Sheridan family back to Ireland. They’d chosen to Back the wrong challenger for the crown, and knew it was best to depart before the new king had the chance to establish his rule.
Maura was transfixed as she stood before him, not only because of the incredible story he told, but because of the storytelling tone of his voice as he explained that one of the goblets was discovered among the items in the prince’s abandoned luggage and was subsequently destroyed. The other goblet, he explained was lost to history and the third was still in the hands of the Sheridan family, back in Ireland.
“Then this one has to be…” Maura heard herself interrupt, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“The one previously believed to be lost,” the stranger replied, finishing what she started.
Still in a moment of deep connection with the shop owner, the stranger hoped the magic would continue as he asked if he could purchase the storied goblet from her. Maura did her best to re-establish her tone as a merchant, clumsily informing the suave stranger that the goblet was part of her late mother’s personal collection and that it was not for sale.
The stranger took it all in stride and before Maura realized it, he was counting out the banknotes to pay for the previously damaged item.
He then slipped out the door, as quickly as he’s appeared, he was gone. Maura spent the next few hours minding the shop, then was off to her real job, working on assignment as a model for a television advertisement.
She thought of how ill prepared she was to take over her mother’s shop. She’d been trained as a fashion model, not schooled in the values and historical significance of antiquities. These were her practical, day to day considerations since her mom passed.
But today, at the very front of her mind was the mysterious and intriguing man who visited the shop earlier that day and the amazing discovery of the Culloden Cup. It was impossible for her to think of anything else. She went through the motions with the modelling assignment, her mind elsewhere.
And that day in the shop would mark a significant turn in Maura’s life. She couldn’t have known it that day, but in the weeks that followed, she would be drawn into a fantastic set of situations that would alter the circumstances of her life.
Catherine Gaskin did a wonderful job of turning me, her reader from left to right as I progressed through the story. Here were just a few of my favorite aspects of this fascinating story:
There was Maura’s agent, Claude of the Morton Agency who could be a charmer in one moment, and a tyrant in the next. He was a man who was generous with his expense account, wining and dining fashion editors, designers and film directors. A courtesy he seldom extended to the models who worked for him. Gaskin did a superb job of helping me to not like this man.
Then there was the Assistant Director who makes a rather courtly pass at the “girl from the Marsh’s Chocolate advertisement. A Sergeant’s description of the most difficult thieves to catch, “those who never steal for profit, but just for the joy of possession.” I was rather taken with the almost magical hat box treasure trove of untold family secrets, the little old senior who seemed to transform from gnomish little man to commanding captain of industry. There was a hilarious dinner faux pau and a sleek cat named Sapphire. There was a lie that bound three men together and the imperious, slightly imbalanced Grande dame of Meremount that collected fine household items and lived her every day out of sync with the times that had changed all around her without her notice.
There were a number of fantastic dishes that as I read, made my mouth water. My favorite was, “poached eggs with Swiss cheese and wine stock fondue on mushrooms with minced garlic shallot.”
But most of all, I was captivated by the questions that lingered in my mind as I read:
Was there some relationship between Maura’s late mom Blanche and the stranger who visited the shop? Had Maura’s mom known the value of the Culloden Cup in her shop, and if so, why would she not have told her daughter, or at least her trusted assistant of this historically significant artifact in the store. Who was the strange visitor to the store and why had he pretended to accidentally break the Irish crystal?
And as I progressed through this amazingly atmospheric and intriguing story, the questions kept coming. That’s the sign of an excellent story.
As a main character, Maura D’Arcy held my interest and won my admiration because of her courage, sense of adventure, her honest human reactions to the strange circumstances she was placed in, her pragmatic and level-headed perspective on the fashion modelling industry, her quick-witted handling of the sweet talkers, opportunists, adversaries and autocrats who cross her path. She has the capacity to be amazed by things other people overlook and she is a good listener. She’s not perfect, and she makes mistakes in this story, but she is a person who learns from her errors. But most importantly, she can cook an exquisite omelette breakfast from scratch…
I gave “Edge of Glass” five out of five stars. But it was probably really a five and a half for me.
March 10, 2011
I was excited to find this story in a 1968 Reader's Digest Condensed Books Book. Is it just me, or are those books so comforting, like you're spending the weekend with your Grandma and as you read, she's making you some sort of delightful meal that somehow only she knows how to make? This is a super easy read, but really enjoyable.
April 10, 2018
I found this book among my mom's books after she had passed and it looked like the kind of books we used to swap with each other many years ago. Dad told me to take any books, clothes, etc that I wanted before they donated the rest. I haven't read a good gothic novel in a long time so I took it. It has my mom's initials in it, she always did that to remember that she already read the book. Now I'll never give it away and the back cover fell off but I grabbed the tape and did a Mickey Mouse job on it but who cares it only has value to me.
A young struggling model is working part time in the antique shop her mom and partner owned. Her mom passed away several months ago. A good looking young man comes in asking questions about her mom and Sheridan glass. Her mom had a private collection of Sheridan glass which she showed him. In the middle of the night she gets a call from the police that the shop had been broken into. The only thing missing is a rare cup made by Sheridan Glass Co. She ends up going to Ireland from London as that is where the Sheridan Glass Co. is. Before she leaves she goes through some of her moms paper that she had in a big hat box and found out some things that her mom never told her about which is another reason to go to Ireland. The land of rundown castles and good looking men some of which are angry about life and more antiques and a mysteries death that happened a while ago. Very gothic!!
A young struggling model is working part time in the antique shop her mom and partner owned. Her mom passed away several months ago. A good looking young man comes in asking questions about her mom and Sheridan glass. Her mom had a private collection of Sheridan glass which she showed him. In the middle of the night she gets a call from the police that the shop had been broken into. The only thing missing is a rare cup made by Sheridan Glass Co. She ends up going to Ireland from London as that is where the Sheridan Glass Co. is. Before she leaves she goes through some of her moms paper that she had in a big hat box and found out some things that her mom never told her about which is another reason to go to Ireland. The land of rundown castles and good looking men some of which are angry about life and more antiques and a mysteries death that happened a while ago. Very gothic!!
April 7, 2014
Story moved along nicely. Interesting how the 2 men both wanted the same two women. Liked how the story started with Brendan breaking the glass, the info about making glass, the way of life of old Ireland, the determination of the Lady Maude to the end, and the way the ending was a satisfying solution for all.
June 6, 2008
I really liked this one, it made me want to travel to far away places and explore castles.
December 6, 2018
Nostalgic story
I really enjoyed this book. The end was something that was unpredictable and yet perfect. The characters are loveable in their own way although a couple have their character defects. I'd definitely recommend it and t believe the majority of you probably will, too.
I really enjoyed this book. The end was something that was unpredictable and yet perfect. The characters are loveable in their own way although a couple have their character defects. I'd definitely recommend it and t believe the majority of you probably will, too.
September 27, 2017
Lovely character's
I enjoyed this book, interesting story and loveable believable characters, however felt it was drawn out in the middle and the ending which I wanted to savour was rushed which made it a bit disappointing
I enjoyed this book, interesting story and loveable believable characters, however felt it was drawn out in the middle and the ending which I wanted to savour was rushed which made it a bit disappointing
September 2, 2013
Enjoyable story
December 18, 2018
Glass has no likeable characters and is replete with non-sequiturs used as plot device to sling-shot the story about. NWTR.
August 11, 2019
I enjoyed learning about the art of glassblowing, and the descriptions of Ireland and its history were interesting. Unfortunately, the characters and plot were not.
September 30, 2019
Good story
Good story as always , an easy read you can’t put down, I love this authors stories, think I’ve read most
Good story as always , an easy read you can’t put down, I love this authors stories, think I’ve read most
August 3, 2025
Back in my youth, I read many novels by Catherine Gaskin. Some, like this one, I encountered through Readers Digest Condensed Books, of which my family had a large collection. When my father in law passed recently, I took this book home with me to re-read.
Maura D'Arcy is a model living in London whose mother recently died. One day, while working in her mother's antique store, she is shocked to find out that there is a family she never knew about. Her mother had been disowned by her own mother for running away from Ireland and bearing a child out of wedlock. So Maura decides to travel there to meet her Grandmother and find out more.
She becomes enmeshed in drama surrounding the family business, a glass factory, and resentment from her cousin Connor who has poured is life into keeping the business going, only to now fear it will slip through his fingers to a woman who doesn't know or care about glass making. The grandmother is dying, but still tyrannical. And there is the mystery of what happened to Connor's first wife and whether her death was truly an accident.
Maura strives to relate to her family with caring and compassion, while maintaining her own identity so that she does not become a pawn in their quarrels. Does she want to keep her career, or take on one of the roles others are trying to force on her?
When she finally confronts Connor with the belief that he tried to murder his aunt to retain control of the business she admits she has no proof. But, as she says, 'Murder is like an edge of glass, it is both smooth and sharp' and she is unwilling to condone it, no matter how terrible her grandmother may have been.
In 60s and 70s, Ms Gaskin was one of many writers whose romance novels were about more than just the romance elements. There are some passionate kisses, but usually no sex. Instead, there are long scenes about how glass is made, amid a background of vivid scenery and Irish history. Another I remember was about sherry making in Spain, or the Australian gold rush. All in all, this was an enjoyable stroll through the memories of my youth as a reader.
Maura D'Arcy is a model living in London whose mother recently died. One day, while working in her mother's antique store, she is shocked to find out that there is a family she never knew about. Her mother had been disowned by her own mother for running away from Ireland and bearing a child out of wedlock. So Maura decides to travel there to meet her Grandmother and find out more.
She becomes enmeshed in drama surrounding the family business, a glass factory, and resentment from her cousin Connor who has poured is life into keeping the business going, only to now fear it will slip through his fingers to a woman who doesn't know or care about glass making. The grandmother is dying, but still tyrannical. And there is the mystery of what happened to Connor's first wife and whether her death was truly an accident.
Maura strives to relate to her family with caring and compassion, while maintaining her own identity so that she does not become a pawn in their quarrels. Does she want to keep her career, or take on one of the roles others are trying to force on her?
When she finally confronts Connor with the belief that he tried to murder his aunt to retain control of the business she admits she has no proof. But, as she says, 'Murder is like an edge of glass, it is both smooth and sharp' and she is unwilling to condone it, no matter how terrible her grandmother may have been.
In 60s and 70s, Ms Gaskin was one of many writers whose romance novels were about more than just the romance elements. There are some passionate kisses, but usually no sex. Instead, there are long scenes about how glass is made, amid a background of vivid scenery and Irish history. Another I remember was about sherry making in Spain, or the Australian gold rush. All in all, this was an enjoyable stroll through the memories of my youth as a reader.
November 28, 2022
"Life doesn't tidy up the ends the way we wish it would."
I realized halfway through reading this book that I expected more than I should have from the characters. I expected that the protagonist, Maura, would uncover her family's hidden secret, that her grandmother would act amicably towards her, that she would end up revolutionizing her family's glassworks by taking over the factory and renovating both it and the manor in which they lived, eventually buying back the castle which had been sold years before her arrival.
Nope.
My expectations, I realized, were probably the expectations of the townsfolk. The more I read, the more I agreed with Maura's actions, and appreciated the story's resolution. I do see a few reviews on here that didn't like the end, but honestly, what did they expect? The whole story takes place over the course of a week, it seems suffocating (for me) for Maura to have taken over the family business in such a short space of time and for it all to resolve in the typical "happily ever after" scenario we've come to expect.
I might have done the same, in her place.
This story does not have much in the way of action, or romance. What interested me most was the intrigue, and though the revelations weren't earth shattering, that was fine for me. It's a story that's rooted in realism, and is easily digestible.
I realized halfway through reading this book that I expected more than I should have from the characters. I expected that the protagonist, Maura, would uncover her family's hidden secret, that her grandmother would act amicably towards her, that she would end up revolutionizing her family's glassworks by taking over the factory and renovating both it and the manor in which they lived, eventually buying back the castle which had been sold years before her arrival.
Nope.
My expectations, I realized, were probably the expectations of the townsfolk. The more I read, the more I agreed with Maura's actions, and appreciated the story's resolution. I do see a few reviews on here that didn't like the end, but honestly, what did they expect? The whole story takes place over the course of a week, it seems suffocating (for me) for Maura to have taken over the family business in such a short space of time and for it all to resolve in the typical "happily ever after" scenario we've come to expect.
I might have done the same, in her place.
This story does not have much in the way of action, or romance. What interested me most was the intrigue, and though the revelations weren't earth shattering, that was fine for me. It's a story that's rooted in realism, and is easily digestible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2020
I loved this book until the end. I was very frustrated w the ending. Only 3.5 stars due to the ending. I know my opinion might not be popular, but I'm weird. Also, the main character needed a little more spunk! The atmosphere was fantastic and intriguing. Gothic stories are my favorite. I love all things Irish, too.
February 3, 2021
Not for me
I read the reviews and was excited too read this book. For me it was tedious I wanted too finish it as I never give up on a book but found it boring sorry. I have never given a poor review but this book was not for me.
I read the reviews and was excited too read this book. For me it was tedious I wanted too finish it as I never give up on a book but found it boring sorry. I have never given a poor review but this book was not for me.
June 21, 2021
3.5
Interesting read. More twists than the typical Gothic romance of the era and unique settings.
Interesting read. More twists than the typical Gothic romance of the era and unique settings.
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