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Synopsis

A Deeply Moving Saga of the Search for Love

Set in New York and Australia between the World Wars, A Complicated Woman follows the fortunes of Oriel Maguire, whose parents' enthralling story was told in Shoddy Prince.

After 22 years' estrangement, Bright Maguire and Nat Prince have been joyously reunited and plan to start a new life in Melbourne. Only after much agonizing thought can their daughter Oriel put aside her opposition to the father who deserted her and decide to go too.

The horrors of the Great War have retreated, leaving a thirst for excitement and frivolity, and Oriel is one of the many gay young things eager to cast aside the restrictions of the bygone era. But unresolved tensions from her past have left her ill-equipped for life in the wider world and her air of loneliness and eagerness to be loved make her an easy victim for those who would take advantage. Committing one folly after another, she stumbles from a disastrous liason into an unwise marriage that results in scandal and ruin, propelling her to the brink of tragedy. Only then does she come face to face with the truth about herself, become reconciled to her family and claim the man she has dared to love.

Press Reviews

Genuinely perceptive portrayals of human relationships - Irish Independent

Sheelagh Kelly surely can write - Sunderland Echo

About the Author

Sheelagh Kelly was born in York in 1948, but now lives with her husband in subtropical Queensland. She attended Knavesmire Secondary School for Girls, left at age 15 and went to work as a bookkeeper. She has written for pleasure since she was a small child, and since 1980 has produced a number of best sellers.