The Keepsake Quilters

Felicity’s latest book, a stand-alone novel published by Hachette Irl, is available in Irish/UK bookshops, and online

If you buy a copy, please support your local bookshop if you can – to find one visit the brilliant Books Are My Bag.

” A page-turner from a stunning writer. I adored it beyond words.” ~ Joanna Lumley

Set in the very different worlds of cosmopolitan London and a sleepy village in Ireland’s Wicklow mountains, The Keepsake Quilters tells the stories of four generations of women and a patchwork quilt that, by reconciling the present with the past, offers their family a joyful future.

Penny is the successful producer of a morning TV show. Her mum, Val, raised her alone, putting her own life on hold. Marguerite, Val’s widowed mother, has returned from London to her childhood home in Wicklow, where a 1950s portrait of her own mother, Ruth, has troubled her since she was young.

When unexpected pregnancy throws Penny’s life into turmoil, she sees her gran’s concern as disapproval and her mum’s urge to help as interference. So, to keep Val busy till Penny calms down, Marguerite and Val work together on a keepsake cot quilt for the coming baby.

As Penny struggles to control the present and panics about the future, the process of piecing together treasured textiles starts to shed new light on the past for Val and Marguerite. Over the months of the pregnancy, buried memories are confronted, Val’s conflicted attitude towards Penny’s dad is finally voiced and, ultimately, the loving secret of Ruth’s striking portrait is revealed.

Meanwhile, Penny’s friendship with Mark, who owns the shop beneath her flat in vibrant Borough Market, begins to take an unexpected turn…