El trébol de Kinsale: Laura Andújar’s Irish Summer Mystery of a Lost Jewel and a Four-Leaf Clover
Alicia is about to start a degree in English Studies, and before her first year at university she goes to work in Kinsale, a town in the south of Ireland. There she meets Mary Ryan, the owner of the guesthouse where she will stay and work over the summer, and makes good friends: Katie; Luke, a strange little boy who says Alicia is a fairy; and Vergara, a mysterious young man who catches her eye from the start.
Author: Laura Andújar Lorca
Title: El trébol de Kinsale (2007)
Format: Spanish hardcover (Anaya Infantil y Juvenil), 176 pages
Scope: Young-adult novel mixing a present-day mystery with the Battle of Kinsale (1601)
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/8466764054 (ASIN 8466764054)
A Missing Husband
But not everything is as happy as it seems. Some time ago Mary’s husband, George, disappeared overnight. Many say he died, but gossips suggest he might have another life somewhere beyond the town. During Alicia’s stay, the town holds a contest with a surprise prize for whoever finds a four-leaf clover, the symbol of perfect luck.
The Clover of the Four Sagas
The story is all about clovers. Four centuries ago there was a jewel called the Clover of the Four Sagas, belonging to one of Kinsale’s noble families. It was stolen from its owner when Spanish troops came to support the Irish rebels in their fight against the English. When the Spanish soldiers arrived in Kinsale, the jewel’s owner, the widow Colette Callaghan, fell for a certain captain called Rodrigo. Their secret affair kept the young man out of the battle.
The Battle of Kinsale
The historical half of the novel draws on a real episode. In 1601, during the Nine Years’ War, a Spanish army under Don Juan del Águila landed at Kinsale, on the south coast of Ireland, to support the Irish lords Hugh O’Neill and Hugh Roe O’Donnell in their rebellion against Elizabeth I. The English, led by Lord Mountjoy, besieged the town. O’Neill and O’Donnell marched the length of Ireland in winter to relieve it, but their attack in late December 1601 was defeated, and early in 1602 Águila surrendered on terms and took his men back to Spain. The defeat marked the end of the old Gaelic order in Ireland.
A Bridge Between Spain and Ireland
Kinsale is a meeting point of Spanish and Irish history, and the novel uses that connection well. Alicia, a Spanish student, arrives in a town where four centuries earlier Spanish soldiers had fought and loved, and the story of Rodrigo and Colette echoes, in a minor key, the broken promise of Spain to Ireland. Today Kinsale is a picturesque harbour town known for its food and its forts, and readers who visit will find the history still visible in its streets.
For Young Readers
Published by Anaya in 2007 for teenage readers, the novel combines a summer romance, a mystery and a historical tale, which makes it a good choice for students of history or of English who are curious about Ireland. It is short, with a lively plot and a likeable narrator.
Tip
A map of Ireland helps with the historical chapters.
A Promise Broken
After the defeat by the English, Rodrigo returned to Spain, but not before confessing to the widow that he had a family there. Hurt, she told him she was pregnant, but Rodrigo did not change his mind. Before leaving he ’took’ an object of great value, while Colette stayed behind in the town, alone, with a child to raise. Past and present come together in a light, romantic mystery for teenage readers. I have not found an English edition, so I link the Spanish one.
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