06/12/2026
This coming Wednesday, *7pm* here at Novel Idea, please join us for the launch of local author Frances Kelly’s ’The Healing Tree.’
Follow-up to Frances’ first novel ’The Silver Gander’ (2023)—likewise launched at Novel Idea—’The Healing Tree’ continues her fascination with Irish history and lore. Both books with be available for purchase that night, and our author will read from her work and field questions. Make sure you drop by to meet Frances, meet fellow readers AND enjoy complimentary refreshments. To whet your appetite, here’s a description of ‘The Healing Tree’:
“Ireland, 1546, and Saoirse Brennan, now Chieftain, is saddled with the care of ten-year-old Edmund Fitzroy, the illegitimate son of Henry VIII. The dying king has named nine-year-old Edward Tudor as his successor, but palace intrigues to control the future boy-king have already started.
“Caught between ensuring Edmund’s safety and protecting her own people, Saoirse confronts soldiers sent by the Earl of Warwick, the outrage of an English Bishop, and the political manoeuvrings of the English Lord Protector of Ireland. But a greater threat comes when a seafarer dying of the plague is left on the shores of her home.
“Set against the tapestry of Celtic Ireland, The Healing Tree weaves Irish legends, know-how, and magic with threads of English history during a fraught and turbulent time.”
