Elizabeth Murphy

HISTORICAL

Pages: 172 Ratings:

Book Format: Choose an option

Free standard delivery on UK orders over £35

*Your order will be dispatched after the publication date of 02-01-2026

The Irish Potato Famine of the mid-19th century brought devastation to thousands of families. John and Kathleen Murphy fled to England – to tragedy, their lives cut short by an outbreak of flu. Their 6-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, falls ill herself and is cared for by a family friend. Unaware that her parents have died, she is eventually taken in by a wealthy doctor in London who raises her with his own daughter, Isabella.

Elizabeth’s long-lost next of kin in Ireland welcome her back over the years and she spends many happy holidays there. As she becomes a young lady, well educated and introduced into society and the sensitive issues of class, she finds love – but heartbreak is to come…

Elizabeth Murphy is a heartwarming, moving and engaging tale – a joy to read.

Anne Clark Pearson was born and raised in Bromley, Kent and until recently was living by the sea in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Her mother and her mother’s two younger sisters were born in Youghal, Co. Cork, Ireland. Their father (Anne's grandfather) John O'Brien was in the merchant navy in the Great War and lost his life at sea in 1917. His ship, HMS Laurentic was carrying gold bullion for the war effort, and hit a mine off the coast of Northern Ireland. Soon after, Anne's grandmother died of a broken heart, and the girls then aged four, two and nine months, were brought up by her great-grandmother, Kate O'Donoghue. Anne's family line in Ireland goes back to at least the year 1845.