Winter People by Gráinne Murphy published today

Congratulations to Gráinne Murphy whose new novel Winter People is published by Legend Press today. Set over the three days before elderly Sis Cotter’s home is repossessed, Winter People follows three very different characters whose lives cross by the sea on the rural West Coast of Ireland, each isolated and grappling with change.

The wild Atlantic coast of Ireland. Three strangers. One question: who are we without the people who love us?

Sis Cotter has lived her whole life in a small house by her beloved beach. Here, she grew up, reared her family, and buried her husband. Now her children are far away and, in three days, her house will be taken from her.

Next door, Lydia has withdrawn from her husband, her friends, her life. She watches the sea as her own private penance for a wrong she can never put right.

Peter’s best friend is dying, and his long-time foster mother is slowly forgetting who he is. Adrift without his two anchors, and struggling with the ethics of displacing people for a living, he looks for something to remind him of who he is and who he wants to be.

Winter People is a story of forgiveness, resilience, and the power of the sea to unlock what we are most afraid to say.

Praise for Winter People:

‘There is a gentleness and depth here that is engrossing’ Anne Griffin

‘Immersive and absorbing’ Joanna Glen, author of Costa shortlisted novel The Other Half of Augusta Hope

‘Subtle, addictive, beautifully written’ Lissa Evans

‘Stunning and profoundly moving’ Billy O’Callaghan, author of Costa Short Story Award finalist The Boatman

‘Compassionate, contemplative, and absorbing’ Claire Fuller, Women’s Prize shortlisted author

‘A tender exploration of loss, loneliness and human fragility… I loved it’ Madeleine D’Arcy