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The Nana
The Irish nana is a repository of family history, memory and lore. Sometimes, like the Italian nonna, she is also a ‘walking cookbook’, carrying the old knowledge of how things were best done.
Alice’s own grandmothers, Nana Taylor and Nana Ballyduane, were the first generation after the Great Famine, born in the 1860s. These women taught their families the Irish traditions and habits of homemaking that survived for centuries, and are now almost gone.
Now Alice herself is a nana too, and this book takes us through three generations and almost a century and a half. She explores the old and the new, the ‘then’ and ‘now’, the nana of yesteryear and of today, with her characteristic empathy and love.
Alice’s own grandmothers, Nana Taylor and Nana Ballyduane, were the first generation after the Great Famine, born in the 1860s. These women taught their families the Irish traditions and habits of homemaking that survived for centuries, and are now almost gone.
Now Alice herself is a nana too, and this book takes us through three generations and almost a century and a half. She explores the old and the new, the ‘then’ and ‘now’, the nana of yesteryear and of today, with her characteristic empathy and love.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published December 3, 2022
7 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Alice Taylor
109 books62 followersAlice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon in County Cork, in a house attached to the local supermarket and post office. Since her eldest son has taken over responsibility for the shop, she has been able to devote more time to her writing.
Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine which has since appeared annually. In 1986 she published an illustrated collection of her own verse.
To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, launching Alice on a series of signing sessions, talks and readings the length and breadth of Ireland. Her first radio interview, forty two minutes long on RTÉ Radio's Gay Byrne Show, was the most talked about radio programme of 1988, and her first television interview, of the same length, was the highlight of the year on RTÉ television's Late Late Show. Since then she has appeared on radio programmes such as Woman's Hour, Midweek and The Gloria Hunniford Show, and she has been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.
To School Through the Fields quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, and her sequels, Quench the Lamp, The Village, Country Days and The Night Before Christmas, were also outstandingly successful. Since their initial publication these books of memoirs have also been translated and sold internationally.
In 1997 her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks. A moving story of land, love and family, it was followed by a sequel, Across the River in 2000, which was also a bestseller.
One of Ireland's most popular authors, she has continued writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry since.
Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine which has since appeared annually. In 1986 she published an illustrated collection of her own verse.
To School Through the Fields was published in May 1988. It was an immediate success, launching Alice on a series of signing sessions, talks and readings the length and breadth of Ireland. Her first radio interview, forty two minutes long on RTÉ Radio's Gay Byrne Show, was the most talked about radio programme of 1988, and her first television interview, of the same length, was the highlight of the year on RTÉ television's Late Late Show. Since then she has appeared on radio programmes such as Woman's Hour, Midweek and The Gloria Hunniford Show, and she has been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.
To School Through the Fields quickly became the biggest selling book ever published in Ireland, and her sequels, Quench the Lamp, The Village, Country Days and The Night Before Christmas, were also outstandingly successful. Since their initial publication these books of memoirs have also been translated and sold internationally.
In 1997 her first novel, The Woman of the House, was an immediate bestseller in Ireland, topping the paperback fiction lists for many weeks. A moving story of land, love and family, it was followed by a sequel, Across the River in 2000, which was also a bestseller.
One of Ireland's most popular authors, she has continued writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry since.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 13, 2023
Great read about Grandma's who are the best, especially Irish grandmothers.
May 29, 2024
It's no secret how much I love Alice Taylor's work, and this book is no exception. It's absolutely beautiful, especially with the accompanying photographs. This book would be the perfect gift for anyone who has a beloved nana or grandmother, or even for the nana or grandmother in your own life. I was quite disappointed in the editing, however, which really took a toll on this book. Editing seems to be so lackadaisical in the publishing industry anymore, and that is truly a shame. For example: "in a constant streams of emigrants..."; "Lisa was always felt very close to her Nana..."; "After a lot haggling and good-humoured banter..."; "...a few day later...". The worst was the term "hurdy-gurdy" being mentioned three times within three consecutive sentences and a typo showing itself in the last one as 'hurdy-gurdly.' It may not be the same for everyone, but when I'm reading a book and there are this many typos or mistakes it's really a turn-off for me.
Some of my favorite passages from the book:
"...the grandchild-Nana relationship is a special inter-generational comfort blanket."
"One of the blessings of grandchildren is that they snap open memory doors in your mind and take you back into long-forgotten scenes from your own childhood."
"Even though it was located on the side of the street, this house had stepped back a little as if to give itself breathing space from the comings and goings out front."
Some of my favorite passages from the book:
"...the grandchild-Nana relationship is a special inter-generational comfort blanket."
"One of the blessings of grandchildren is that they snap open memory doors in your mind and take you back into long-forgotten scenes from your own childhood."
"Even though it was located on the side of the street, this house had stepped back a little as if to give itself breathing space from the comings and goings out front."
September 24, 2023
My first Alice Taylor book but not my last. Chapeau to the photographer whose work really added so much to the book. Ms. Taylor so perfectly depicts life with/as an Irish Nana that I found myself wishing this were an audiobook so I could hear the stories out loud in the way that so much of Irish history and lore has been passed on. Just a great dip into Irish life!
January 21, 2024
Alice Taylor keeping Irish culture, nósanna and traditional Irish family life alive within the pages of her books for generations to come🥰
April 28, 2024
Lovely book. If you have/had an Irish grandmother, this book brings back happy memories.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews