The Ludlow Ladies Society

Author/Guide: Ann O'Loughlin

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Three women, three journeys, one destination

ISBN: 978-1785301278
Genre: Fiction

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What you need to know before your trail

Connie Carter arrives at the gates of an old mansion on the outskirts of an Irish village. She’s recovering from a tragedy back in the IS and has inherited a old house in rural Ireland.

The previous owner, Eve,has lost everything and is suffering from her own problems. She still lives in the village but works as a dressmaker.

Then there’s Hetty, a widow who is herself living in a world of loneliness and inner pain.
They come together in a group named the Ludlow Ladies’s Society, a group of women making a memory quilt and the stitching and the sewing create something whole out of many pieces..

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Travel Guide

“Rosdaniel”, CoWicklow

Ludlow Hall is sadly fictional but it sounds very real indeed.

“Ludlow Hall: Forlorn, each window boarded up, the front door hemmed in with damp, dirty plywood. Old geranium pots lining the four front steps spilled over with weeds, a stone seat in front of the house was stained and pocked with moss.”

“The dark shapes of thick old-fashioned furniture she could make out in the dim light.”

She saw a book left unturned over on its pages, indicative of either a hasty leaving or the intention for an early return”

Ludlow Hall used to house this Ludlow society until it was sold off and now the group are out on their ear. This is the place where a community gathers and women come together and forget their problems for a while. Small town and close knit communities in Ireland, the magic of friends and the healing process of working creatively together.

Booktrailer Review

Susan: @thebooktrailer

A nice ‘put your slippers on and take a breath’ kind of novel, but also one to shake you up and make you realise the value of friendships. I enjoyed getting to know these women, especially Connie. The idea that you think you’re the only one with problems and if you don’t talk to anyone else, or look up from your own despair, you never really get to see how others might think or feel.

What I found particularly interesting and which created the harmony in this orchestra of life’s peaks and troughs, was the creation of memory quilts. Colours and textures of life were well documented but the club was so much more than this and what it stood for, what it did for the women who joined it was lovely to read about.

There’s a lot to be said about taking time to appreciate the small things in life and I think it really helped to heal the women in the book. It’s not an action packed novel of course by any means, but that’s its strength – beauty in taking time to appreciate your friends and taking time to experience life in rural Ireland.