A candle in the window

by Paul R. Doherty

Growing up in a small rural village in the wilds of Donegal in the early 1930’s, Tom Devlin was a happy, well liked if somewhat naive ten year old boy. The eldest child from a large working class family, Tom has little knowledge of the outside world, or inclination to discover its appeal outside the environs of his comfortable Irish upbringing. Easily led astray by his spirited best friend, Dónal O’Connor, the boys indulge in a summer of antics and tomfoolery, until growing family misfortune and hardship escalate in tragedy. Suddenly forced to relocate without his immediate family and live with his maternal aunt in the East End of London, Tom’s world is turned on its head. Ostracised and beset by bigotry, bullying and anti-Irish prejudice; unfairly labelled a trouble maker within his new school, and foolishly falling foul of the Law, Tom seeks solace in the only person willing to accept him for who he is, a fellow immigrant newly arrived from the Caribbean. All Tom can do is remain true to himself…and persevere.

451 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2015