 First edition | |
| Author | Marita Conlon-McKenna |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Children of the Famine |
| Genre | Children's books, Historical fiction |
| Media type | |
| Followed by | Wildflower Girl |
Under the Hawthorn Tree is a children's historical novel by Marita Conlon-McKenna, the first in her Children of the Famine trilogy set at the time of the Great Famine in Ireland. It was published by the O'Brien Press in May 1990. [1] It was adapted for television in 1999. [2]
The novel tells the story of three siblings, Mary Ellen (Eily), Michael and Margaret (Peggy) O'Driscoll, who live in a small cottage in their home district of Duneen. Ireland is in the height of The Great Hunger. Blight has destroyed the staple crop. Ten month old Bridget dies of famine fever and is buried under the hawthorn tree in the garden: in Irish mythology, the hawthorn is linked with the otherworld.
Their father has gone to find work on the famine roads, and the children and their mother struggle each day, barely getting enough food to survive. Their mother ends up selling all of her belongings except for the clothes on their backs. Desperate and worried that she won't be able to feed her children alone, she leaves to search for her husband. After waiting for their parents for a few days, the three siblings are forced to leave for the workhouse. Eily makes a decision; they would make the long journey to find Nano and Lena, the aunts from their mother's stories. The journey ahead is dangerous and the children are weak, but they are determined to make it to Castletaggart where their aunts are living and running a bakery.
Under the Hawthorn Tree received the Children's and Young Adult's Book Award for Older Reader Category in 1991. [3]
The book, originally written in English, has been translated into Irish, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Italian, Japanese, Persian, Malay, Arabic and Korean. [4]
Under the Hawthorn Tree was filmed for Channel 4 and screened as a four-part series in March 1999. [2]
The legacy of the Great Famine in Ireland followed a catastrophic period of Irish history between 1845 and 1852 during which time the population of Ireland was reduced by 50 percent.
Josephine Edna O'Brien is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the biennial "UK and Ireland Nobel" David Cohen Prize in 2019, whilst France made her Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2021.
Events from the year 1990 in Ireland.
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Marita Conlon-McKenna is an Irish author of children's books and adult fiction. She is best known for her Famine-era historical children's book Under the Hawthorn Tree, the first book of the Children of the Famine trilogy, which was published in 1990 and achieved immediate success. Praised for its child-accessible yet honest depiction of the Great Famine, Under the Hawthorn Tree has been translated into over a dozen languages and is taught in classrooms worldwide. Conlon-McKenna went on to be a prolific writer and has published over 20 books for both young readers and adults. Her debut adult novel Magdalen was published in 1999.
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Under the Hawthorn Tree may refer to:
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