The Maid of Ballymacool: A Novel

by Jennifer Deibel

Overview

Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as an infant. She has worked there since she was a wee girl and will likely die there. Despite a sense that she was made for something more, Brianna feels powerless to change her situation, so she consoles herself by exploring the Ballymacool grounds, looking for hidden treasures to add to the secret trove beneath the floorboards of her room.

When Michael Wray, the son of local gentry, is sent to Ballymacool to deal with his unruly cousin, he finds himself drawn to Brianna, immediately and inescapably. There is something about her that feels so . . . familiar. When Brianna finds a piece of silver in the woods, she commits to learning its origins, with the help of Michael. What they discover may change everything.

Fan favorite Jennifer Deibel invites you back to the Emerald Isle in the 1930s for this fresh take on the Cinderella story, complete with a tantalizing mystery, a budding romance, and a chance at redemption.


"Deibel's update on the 'Cinderella' story features sympathetic, three-dimensional characters that readers will find easy to root for."—Publishers Weekly

"Deibel once again inventively draws on Ireland's fascinating history as inspiration for a compassionate and compelling sweet romance with a Celtic Cinderella-like flavor."—Booklist

"Jennifer Deibel has done it again with The Maid of Ballymacool, a hopeful historical romance novel about unrelenting faith and new beginnings with just a pinch of mystery. With rich language and historical detail, Deibel brilliantly emphasizes the story's central themes of love, faith, and redemption."—BookPage

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780800741747
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/21/2023
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	104,375
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jennifer Deibel is the author of A Dance in Donegal (winner of the Kipp Award for Historical Romance) and The Lady of Galway Manor (a Parable Group bestseller). Her work has appeared on (in)courage, on The Better Mom, in Missions Mosaic magazine, and in other publications. With firsthand immersive experience abroad, Jennifer writes stories that help redefine home through the lens of culture, history, and family. After nearly a decade of living in Ireland and Austria, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and their three children. You can find her online at www.jenniferdeibel.com.

Editorial Reviews

12/12/2022

Deibel (The Lady of Galway Manor) transports readers to 1935 Ireland in this enchanting romance. As a baby, Brianna Kelly was left on the doorstep of Maureen Magee, the headmistress of Ballymacool Boarding School, with only a broken pendant as a link to her past. Demanding, abrasive Magee raises Brianna as a servant; now 20, she’s still “earning her keep” as a maid at Ballymacool and finds solace only in the woods near the school, where she collects small trinkets and connects with God. Her fortunes shift when Michael Wray, the son of a local lord, visits the school to keep an eye on his wayward cousin; once there, he’s captivated by the beautiful scullery maid. Michael and Brianna fall in love, but she struggles to imagine a future together given her low social standing. Then her pendant goes missing, and the search for it unravels a mystery involving Magee and the Ballymacool estate that may have huge impacts on Brianna’s life. Deibel’s update on the “Cinderella” story features sympathetic, three-dimensional characters that readers will find easy to root for as they navigate the page-turning plot and find their way to one another. This heartwarming entry will keep readers hooked till its satisfying close. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly