Why a Booktrail?
1960 and 2008 – Welcome To Roscarbury Hall in Ireland, there’s a lot of secrets hidden in this old, remote and crumbling house. And wait. Who’s that at the door? A visitor?
The Ballroom Cafe
What you need to know before your trail
An old crumbling mansion in Ireland which is the home of two sisters who haven’t spoken to each other for decades. In fact their only means of communication is the notes they leave in the hallway…so life is crumbling both inside and out.
With the house falling down around them, their only chance of survival is to try and bringing some money in by opening up the old ballroom as a cafe. Ella is keen but Roberta disgusted by the idea.
The cafe takes off but another battle between the sisters is on the horizon and when a mysterious American woman comes calling, searching for her birth mother, the baggage and secrets she carries with her could shock the community and really bring things crashing to the ground.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Welcome to Roscarbury Hall….
“The rooms were so cold in winter you could see your breath, the stairs to the attic creaked like a banshee, and the chill winds rattled the window latches in a din of constant tapping, The parkland dipped and rolled away to the lake…”
A grim and desolate place in some ways but this is the home of two warring sisters, beaten and aged by time and by a secret that binds them together at the same time as keeping them apart. On the brink of bankruptcy, the house could be lost and it’s all they have.
So the idea of a ballroom cafe in a crumbling old mansion could be the romantic and life saving dream they both need. Putting up the tables and dressing the room is the start and the dream starts to form.
“When they were young, she and Roberta used to steal into the ballroom and pretend to have grand evenings, dancing, sitting and chatting until, almost asleep they sneaked back to their beds.
Those were the happiest days when the sisters had no secrets, They formed the Ballroom Club and swore allegiance to Roscarbury”
Such a place of sadness and regret but also happy memories – fading paint, crumbling regret and a sadness which lingers like the mist
The American woman who comes to look around reveals her background back in the US and soon the reasons for her coming to Ireland become clear as does the reason behind the sisters not speaking to each other.
Inspired by real events, the tragic story of forced adoptions and a story which moves between 1960 and 2008 between Ireland and America. This is a very difficult topic to read about and digest but this novel is a good place to start a wealth of discussion about hidden pain and loss.
Where Next?
