Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    The Lace Makers of Glenmara: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Lace Makers of Glenmara: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Lace Makers of Glenmara: A Novel
    Ebook309 pages4 hours

    The Lace Makers of Glenmara: A Novel

    By Heather Barbieri

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “This hopeful, comforting novel is a testament to the power of taking chances and starting fresh and a reminder that life can bring joy after sorrow." — Miami Herald

    From the author of Snow in July comes The Lace Makers of Glenmara: a “charming, moving story, written with a delicate touch” (Joanne Harris), as a struggling young fashion designer journeys to Ireland to mend a broken heart, and helps a group of local lace makers change their lives—and her own.

    "You can always start again," Kate Robinson's mother once told her. "All it takes is a new thread." Overwhelmed by heartbreak and loss, Kate follows her mother's advice and flees to Ireland, her ancestral homeland, hoping to reinvent herself. In the seaside hamlet of Glenmara, the struggling twenty six-year-old fashion designer quickly develops a bond with members of the local lace-making society—and soon she and the lace makers are creating a line of exquisite lingerie, their skilled hands bringing flowers, Celtic dragons, nymphs, saints, kings, and queens to life with painterly skill. The circle also offers them something more: the strength to face their desires and fears. But not everyone in this charming, fading Gaelic village welcomes Kate, and a series of unexpected events threatens to unravel everything the women have worked so hard for.

    Fans of the strong feminine voices of contemporary Irish literature such as Maeve Binchy and Cecilia Ahern will fall in love with The Lace Makers of Glenmara.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 23, 2009
    ISBN9780061888793
    Unavailable
    The Lace Makers of Glenmara: A Novel
    Author

    Heather Barbieri

    The author of two previous novels, The Lace Makers of Glenmara and Snow in July, Heather Barbieri has won international prizes for her short fiction. She lives in Seattle with her family.

    Related to The Lace Makers of Glenmara

    Related ebooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jul 1, 2023

      Jester-necked pile of ideasfattening by the cutting board.I have known the summer wall,it says slowly. The hillside facessouth into the valley.Dew on the tomato plants.Anything that grows, swarms,bunches itself against a stayand cannot stay. The vine

      4 min read

    • Article

      Cul-de-Sac

      Dec 1, 2021

      That old rage for order: how my father drove a square mouthed mower over-and-back, over-and-back, each row of neatly trimmed grass cut just like he told his barber: boy’s short, regular. O pioneer, taming this joke bit of prairie, no bindweed or dog

      5 min read

    • Article

      It’s Come to This

      Sep 1, 2021

      It’s Come to This
      16 min read

    • Article

      This Town Has Become a Museum

      Sep 21, 2021

      This Town Has Become a Museum
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Echoes

      Jun 22, 2022

      Echoes
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Last Friend on Earth

      May 4, 2023

      It was as if Doreen Saunders had been waiting for me, passing the time until my arrival. She might as well have been sitting in a rocking chair, knitting needles clicking, jam tarts cooling on the side, the door wide open, waiting for the next visito

      6 min read

    • Article

      Your Poetry

      May 28, 2021

      Email your poems to: (editorial@choicemag.co.uk) or post to Your Poetry, Choice, 4 Milnyard Square, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6GX There’s a train that runs on barren track, along the side & at the back,of the caravan. The children laugh & sho

      3 min read

    • Article

      1181 Durfee Avenue

      Jan 5, 2021

      1181 Durfee Avenue
      4 min read

    • Article

      People Are Strange

      Oct 13, 2019

      People Are Strange
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tessa Castro

      Nov 17, 2021

      IN COMPETITION No 273, you were invited to write a poem called Bags. Your least-favourite kind of bag was the ‘bag for life’, which did not live up to its name. But Adrian Fry’s narrator embraced life in bags: ‘I keep my life in placky bags:/Bus tick

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Living Days

      Nov 4, 2019

      The Living Days
      9 min read

    • Article

      Typewriter

      Aug 2, 2021

      Chère Madame. Vous ne vous rappelleriez pas de moi, mais de ma part… Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap… She flicks the return bar – PING – and her fingers fall back into rhythm. Catherine’s French comes as naturally as the movement of her

      5 min read

    • Article

      As the World Collapses

      Jul 27, 2017

      As the World Collapses
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Lost Cause

      Dec 6, 2020

      A Lost Cause
      9 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Sep 1, 2023

      Unlike the churning shit-show-roar of whateverthat was we just left behind, this year, onlinechatter tells me, will be one of contemplationand hope. Maybe. Right now, I’m holding stillthe best I can, having followed once again thissame path to this s

      4 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      the Bradford Pears, green-and-white globes of my girlhoodwhose smell I’ve tried to name for years, settling on piss, but walking by a row of them on my way to the grade school,I thought baking soda. Junk trees, those spring debutantes stinking in the

      2 min read

    • Article

      Body Language

      Aug 14, 2019

      Body Language
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Puzzle Of Nostalgia

      Aug 26, 2022

      A Puzzle Of Nostalgia
      5 min read

    • Article

      This Weekend

      Mar 16, 2020

      If you’re looking for that beautiful, conversation-worthy piece for your home, then move aside malls, and hello markets. Kamers is back for another autumn showcase, with over 180 ‘makers’ offering you their best wares. Kamers is arguably one of the b

      4 min read

    • Article

      Personal Space

      Mar 29, 2020

      Ten years ago, almost to the day, my father died without warning. He was getting off a plane in Sydney. I was 22 and living in the south of Spain at the time, a place where my biggest qualms were whether the orange juice was pre-squeezed, or if my br

      6 min read

    • Article

      Worlds Of Ink And Paper

      Nov 22, 2022

      As a young girl, I still remember my dear mother, smile on her face, curled up with Family Circle magazine in her lap. She was engrossed in an article titled “Butternut Wisdom,” written by Gladys Taber. At my age, it didn’t mean a thing to me. But as

      6 min read

    • Article

      Splash

      Feb 9, 2018

      Splash
      6 min read

    • Article

      Broken Wings

      Aug 24, 2020

      Whenever Gemma Faber came to London for work, she stayed at Searle’s. It was a luxurious club-type hotel and every time she visited, she felt she’d really made it. The taxi pulled up and her heart lifted at the sight of the lilac-and-gold striped awn

      5 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Sabrina Orah Mark

      Dec 15, 2020

      For most of November, I’ve been wandering around with Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book because I miss my grandmother and grief is also an island weathered by sunshine and storms. The post A Year in Reading: Sabrina Orah Mark appeared first on The Mil

      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Lace Makers of Glenmara

    4/5

    21 ratings18 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      The plot is incredibly predictable (I think I could tell you the rough outline of the whole story by the time I got to chapter 2) but flows along well enough, and I stayed interested enough to keep reading.
    • 4/5
      26-year-old designer Kate Robinson flees to her ancestral homeland of Ireland after a failed fashion show, the death of her mother, and a relationship breakup. She has a little money and so backpacks around Ireland sleeping rough before arriving on the west coast, in the seaside hamlet of Glenmara. This Gaelic village is quickly going downhill as there are no jobs and no industry to keep people there. Kate stays with a woman called Bernie, alone and still grieving the loss of her husband, and a member of the local lace-making society. Other members include Aileen, mother of a difficult teenage daughter; Moira, a battered wife trying to hide what’s happening at home; Oona, in remission from breast cancer, and Colleen, whose fisherman husband is missing at sea. While ‘almost’ stuck on a rock face, Kate also meets local potter Sullivan Deane, who always has a frown on his face, and the local priest, a man who will not abide change. Kate is taught lace-making by the group and soon comes up with an idea for a line of exquisite lingerie. The group can make the lace and a friend can create a webpage to sell them on, however they need Sullivan Deane’s computer and have to leave the village to get an internet connection. It all sounds good, but the priest is suspicious. A nice read.
    • 3/5
      The Lace Makers of Glenmara, situated in a remote village in Ireland, reminds me of Jan Karon’s The Mitford series of novels as it offers a similar small-town feel where everyone knows each other and occasionally each other’s business as well. Although the author, Heather Barbieri, eloquently describes the rustic Irish countryside, I could never seem to truly feel engaged with this story. Perhaps, if the author had written this novel using Kate’s voice in the first person, I might have felt less detached than when reading this version in the third person.When Kate Robinson’s mother passes away, and Kate’s relationship with boyfriend Ethan ends in disappointment, Kate flees to ancestral Ireland to find a balance in her life and to come to terms with her mother’s death. There, in a coastal village, Kate meets Bernie and the lacemakers of Glenmara. In learning the craft of working with lace, Kate finds the inspiration to design beautiful lingerie, and a new pact and business is formed that leads to new possibilities for all the women in this guild of lacemakers. Ironically in this world’s smallest community, Kate finds handsome Sullivan Deane who similarly is recovering from a lost love. Although I’m often easily absorbed in the emotional and romantic elements of a story, I thought that the author could have developed this romance a little further. Sullivan Deane’s character was never truly revealed and his feelings were never really made transparent. I would have wanted to understand his torment better, and to feel his rehabilitation through his developing relationship with Kate.Aside from all that, I did find The Lace Makers of Glenmara to be a pleasant story and probably a worthy read. It’s not compelling or enchanting, but enjoyable nonetheless.
    • 4/5
      "You can always start again, you just need new thread." I liked it.
    • 4/5
      This is such a wonderful book.
    • 3/5
      Kate has just had a bad breakup, lost her mother and has had bad luck with her business so she goes to the motherland - Ireland. There she finds a town filled with the love, magic and support she needs. The Lace Makers of Glenmara is a quick read, a great summer book.
    • 4/5
      An excellent read albeit a brief one...I wished it were longer but it was very well-written. Hard to believe that lace something so delicate and fragile looking could bring a community together and provide motivation and healing on a variety of levels. This author accomplished this and more in an intriguing tale set on the Emerald Isle.
    • 4/5
      women, friendship, small business, Ireland, gentle read
    • 4/5
      Life has seemed to be all about heartbreak lately for Kate Robinson. First the death of her mother, then the painful breakup with her boyfriend and finally the demise of her fashion line...they all conspire to make her want to escape. She and her Mom had long planned a trip to Ireland, a trip her Mom was not able to make but she encouraged Kate to take on her own. That is how she finds herself backpacking alone down a lonely Irish country lane, drenched to the skin with the constant rain.Stumbling into the small coastal town of Glenmara, Kate encounters in insulated group of villagers in the midst of a small festival. Widowed Bernie and her lifelong friend Aileen are manning the lace booth, selling the items their circle of friends have created. Kate is captivated by the lovely lace pieces...they remind her of her mother, who taught her to sew. Bernie takes one look at bedraggled Kate and invites her to stay. Kate's presence in the village affects people in different ways, some are thrilled to have someone new around, others resent the intrusion. When she joins the circle of lace makers, Kate is inspired by the idea of adding Irish lace to the ladies' bras and underwear. What starts as a way to inject something beautiful and positive into the lives of the women, who all have had problems and challenges, ends up becoming a business opportunity that is much needed in the village and in Kate's life, too. Unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled about this new venture. There will be obstacles to overcome and problems to solve before they can look into that promising future.In this lovely novel the author deftly crafts a touching story about women, friendship and life. She beautifully tells what binds them together, the threads and stitching that make up ordinary lives...sometimes embroidering them into the extraordinary and sometimes tearing them apart. If you are looking for a great summer read that will take you away, don't miss The Lace Makers of Glenmara.
    • 4/5
      Kate Robinson has left America behind after the death of her mother and a break-up with her boyfriend. She is traveling alone in Ireland when she comes upon the small town of Glenmara and is invited to stay with a widow named Bernie. Bernie is dealing with her own heartache and is one of a group of women who meet together to make handmade lace. Soon the women begin to teach Kate both the ways of the town and the ways of the lace. Because the town is economically unstable, the women decide to adopt Kate's idea of creating lace lingerie out of their creations and soon they begin to design beautiful and luxurious pieces for themselves. As each woman becomes the subject for design, her past and present are revealed. Bernie is longing for the husband who passed away and the children that the couple never had. Aileen is losing her teenage daughter to influences beyond her control. Moira is caught in an abusive marriage. Oona is living with a body ravaged by breast cancer and Colleen is forever wishing that her husband would come home from sea. When the women's project catches the eye of the stringent local priest, sparks begin to fly around the community. Now the women must not only come to terms with what is ailing each privately but also to defend their creations publicly. Both enchanting and heartfelt, The Lacemakers of Glenmara paints a beautiful portrait of the struggles of women and the friendships that aid them in their heartache.When this book first hit the blogosphere, I was really excited about getting the chance to read it. Though it's not my usual fare, I thought that it would be interesting to read about lace makers in Ireland and the ways that their lives intersected. I read so many wonderful reviews of the book all over the place that I was eager to try it for myself and see what I thought of it. While I ultimately found the book to be a very pleasant and interesting diversion, there were some moments where I scratched my head in perplexity.First off, I really liked Kate and thought that she was an eclectic and interesting character. Though she was running from heartbreak, she didn't pity herself and get caught up in moroseness and apathy. I thought it was pretty brave of her to venture into a country where she knew no one and nothing, and though I knew that at times her motive for travel was escape, she came across as a really adventurous woman. I also liked that she had talent as a clothing designer and used that skill to fit into her new surroundings. In her desire to help the women of the town, Kate uses the craft she knows well to draw inspiration from the women around her. I did have a bit of confusion as to why these lace undergarments were such a hit with the little town though. On the one hand, they may have never seen lace decorated panties and bras, but on the other, I considered it a tad unlikely. Ultimately, I was forced to see that the making of the lace into undergarments was just a bit of symbolism to describe the cathartic changes that took over the women after Kate's arrival.I was also a little underwhelmed by the romance between Kate and one of the men of the town. There was very little setup and courtship between the two and I had a hard time understanding their mutual attraction. Sure, the gentleman in question was very easy on the eyes but I felt that Kate was such a rich character that maybe she would require a bit more out of a man she considered her paramour. When the relationship began to move forward, things became a bit more believable and plausible. The two lovers' pasts kept interfering in their budding relationship and it was up to them to share the secrets that were holding them apart. Though the relationship got off to a rocky start, as things progressed, I found myself more able to buy into the love between the two.The relationship between the women in this book was the true wonder of this story. Their unity and love for one another outlasted the petty dramas and rivalries that they succumbed to from time to time. Most of the drama and recrimination came from Aileen's corner, for she could be very jealous and possessive at times. Aileen provided a lot of combustion between the lace makers and Kate and she did it with an outrageous sense of entitlement. The other women were more mild mannered, but as they moved into the spotlight, I began to see that they were all beset by personal difficulties and heartache. Though the foundation of the women's friendships had been cemented long ago, there was a constant push and pull between all of them and the newcomer Kate. I liked the steadfastness of their relationships and felt this gave the book a solidity and resonance beyond the threads that held the story together.One of the things that I was most puzzled about in this book was the reactions of the priest to the ladies and their new creations. For the life of me, I just didn't understand why lace panties made him fear for the sanctity of his community! He was a really interesting character but I felt that his story sort of petered out in the end and I would have liked to see more come of his outrage. I guess I was hampered by the fact that I had never really lived in a small town, so I had a hard time understanding the social dynamics of the Church in relation to its supplicants in one. I would have loved to see a bit more done with this aspect of the story or maybe to have learned a little more about the priest's background. As it was, this was the part of the book that tripped me up a bit.For the most part, I did enjoy this book and its look at a small community of women in Ireland but there were times when I felt that the story was a little underdeveloped. I think Barbieri accomplished a lot with this tale and it was a beautiful testament to women and the friendships that grace their lives. As I mentioned before, some of the aspects of the story were a bit puzzling to me, and in the case of this book, I wish it had been a bit longer in order to fully explore some of the things that I felt were a little raw. I think that readers who enjoy women's fiction would get a lot out of this book, as well as those who are armchair travelers. I can imagine that this would make a great summer read for a lot of folks. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
    • 5/5
      This wonderfully told story walked a thin line of sap and warm tale. Kate walks around Ireland, trying to get her cranium together, meets a nice traveling tinker who gives her a ride to a nice little village with nice ladies who make lace and teach Kate after giving her a place to stay for a little while and she teaches them to make a cottage industry with their skilled hands and lovely lace. Kate also meets a gorgeous Irish man who melts her heart, but he has a tragedy he's trying to overcome and isn't sure he wants to commit his heart again.All of this could have been overwhelmingly sappy, but for me it wasn't. I loved reading this book. There were enough bumps to roughen the smooth road of the story. There were characters I loved, some I wanted to slap. I want to go live in Glenmara and learn how to create the lace and go to the pub and listen to the music of a Friday night fest. A lovely story and I do like my lovely story breaks from time to time. This one definitely fit the gentle bill.Five sparkly Irish lace diamonds.....
    • 4/5
      While the story sounds very familiar, like other tales of quilt makers, cooks, or seamstresses wherein a group of women teach a younger novice about a craft and life, there was something fresh and comforting about this story. Kate was a strange contradiction of weaknesses and strengths that I think might be a bit more true to real women than in previous stories of this nature. Although she sometimes shocked me with her openness to emotion, I realized that Kate represented a different type of woman who doesn't need dramatics to show her pain or to grow. It was an interesting idea, to see a woman in pain, but find strength from it in less obvious ways.Overall, I found The Lace Makers of Glenmara to be this delightful "Quiet Man" meets "American Quilt" that had me charmed from the opening page. The writing was engaging, the characters interesting, and the story endearing. There is romance, young love, later love, family love, painful goodbyes, and beautiful renewals in this story. Overall, it was a different kind of life story than I have read in awhile, and I was thoroughly charmed by it from the beginning.
    • 3/5
      Ummm....a "thin" novel. Not very well developed. Totally predicable. That said, a quick simple but unfullfilled read.Kate has just been dumped, her clothing line has gone bust, her mother has died recently, and she decides to take time off from life and go to Ireland. As you do!She ends up in Glenmara, a coastal Irish town (nice descriptions and totally believable) , in a clique of lace-makers all of which have their compact "story." Cue music, and handsome Irish man who, like Kate, has had some trauma in his life.Not the worst thing I have ever read. But, would not recommend.
    • 2/5
      Disappointing plot that show strong evidence of the author's vindictive feelings towards the Church. Hoped for something redeeming in the plot and esp. in the character development of the priest, but it was clearly apparent that the author has let personal opinion interfer with what could have been an interesting story line.
    • 4/5
      Kate Robinson’s life is in tatters. Her long-term boyfriend has dumped her, her fashion career is failing thanks to an incompetent advisor, and her mother has died. Determined to renew herself, Kate departs on a long trip to Ireland, where she and her mother had planned to go before the cancer took away all plans. Inadvertently, she stumbles upon Glenmara and a group of five women who have carried on the hereditary tradition of making lace while their own lives are uncertain and unhappy. Together, Kate and the lace makers of Glenmara strive to not only rediscover their own lives, but to give their fading town a fresh start on the world stage.I think the key word when it comes to this book is simply “not enough”. The Lace Makers of Glenmara is meant to be inspiring and heart-warming with a simple story about the friendships between women, with one in particular as a focal point. As always, Ireland itself is enchanting, and Glenmara and its generally aging residents are a product of a society long gone. There is a mystical touch on Kate’s journey to Glenmara with William the Traveller. Kate’s need for a new outlook on life is completely understandable. Yet so much of this book rang false for me. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Bernie would offer to let a stranger live with her when they had only met five minutes ago, against the advice of her best friend. The romance was incredibly quick and not at all fleshed out. Kate and Sullivan basically fall into bed together and are immediately serious after that with no real development of the initial relationship, so his panic shortly afterwards just seems strange. This is especially so given that we’re told he sleeps around quite frequently and is never serious about anyone. Kate seems different just because she reminds him of someone else, but that’s an incredibly shaky base for a relationship. Lace making itself is undoubtedly fascinating, but again, few details are really given in the book. The events within could also have been incredibly moving, and the book tries hard to accomplish that, but we haven’t spent enough time with the characters to feel grief on their behalf.At its core, the story is still a good one. I love how the lace could renew a community by giving it new strength and new visitors. Its effect on the women’s lives is itself slightly magical, which adds to the overall mystical feel of the book. It isn’t that I disliked the book, it is just that I put it down wishing for more story, more detail, more characters, more everything. The Lace Makers of Glenmara is well conceived but poorly executed.
    • 5/5
      What a charming book about embracing change. I loved it. It had quirky characters and dealt with some really interesting issues or rather challenges through the characters. Some of the challenges being domestic abuse, losing loved ones, and dealing with letting your children grow up. It interweaves this with a bit of magic that you can only find in Ireland.
    • 5/5
      I've been to Ireland a couple of times and after reading The Lace Makers of Glenmara I really want to go again. I so enjoyed my time spent reading this book. Heather Barbieri wrote an engaging story about people dealing with loss and trying to go on with their lives.Kate, a young American woman of Irish descent, has travelled from Seattle to Ireland. One day she misses her bus and winds up walking. She takes a ride from a kind stranger who drops her at the road leading to Glenmara. She meets some friendly people in the village who invite her to stay and learn how to make lace. From that point on the world becomes a bit larger for the ladies who dare to try something new and Kate finds a place where people won't leave her.Kate stays with Bernie, a 50-something widow whose husband died a year earlier. Over a cup of tea one evening Kate says to Bernie "I was just thinking how funny life is. Seems like the more you want something, the more it eludes you. Then, when you least expect it, there it is." This is a theme of the story. I liked seeing both small and big changes happen in the characters' lives - changes that some didn't even know they wanted.A lovely book has found a home on my "keeper shelf" and I've added another title to my 2009 favorites list. I recommend The Lace Makers of Glenmara to fans of Women's Fiction and anyone who enjoys an enchanting novel.
    • 3/5
      An interesting book about a girl named Kate Robinson who travels to Ireland after many heartaches in her life back in the states searching for independence and solitude. She discovers a small village named Glenmara on the coast and decides to stay after meeting a quiet, friendly woman who has lost her husband and welcomes her into her home. She introduces her to a group of women who make lace and there she becomes involved with their lives and eventually finds acceptance.