Explore what it means to be Irish with this compelling and uncommon collection of stories. Featuring both famous authors and forgotten ones, these twenty literary gems offer a colorful kaleidoscope of perspectives on the Irish people and their character. Here are stories of daring patriots and reluctant warriors, magical musicians and young lovers, conniving landlords and hearty peasants, greenhorn immigrants and longtime transplants with an undying love of the old country. From the hills of Connemara to the streets of New York and the deserts of North Africa, these stories bring to light the odyssey of the intrepid Irish. They are sure to inspire, entertain, and enlighten-or at the very least, make you smile. With works from: Liam O'Flaherty, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Butler Yeats, Sarah Orne Jewett, George Moore, Frank Mathew, Samuel Lover, Bram Stoker, Katharine Tynan, Ellis N. Myles, Finley Peter Dunne, T. Crofton Croker, William Larminie, Lady Gregory, William M. Thackeray, Alexander Young, John McElgun, George A. Birmingham, Kate Douglas Wiggin

On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle... Juli Cooke, hard-working and getting nowhere fast, marries a dying man, Ben Bradshaw, for a financial settlement, not expecting he will set her on a journey of hope and love. The journey brings her to Luke Winters, a local art dealer, but Luke resents the woman who married his sick friend and warns her not to hurt Ben-and he's watching to make sure she doesn't. Until Ben dies and the stakes change. Framed by the timelessness of the Atlantic Ocean and the brilliant blue of the beach sky, Juli struggles against her past, the opposition of Ben's and Luke's families, and even the living reminder of her marriage-to build a future with hope and perhaps to find the love of her life-if she can survive the danger from her past.

Off-season at Emerald Isle In-season for secrets of the heart... Frannie Denman has been waiting for her life to begin. After several false starts, and a couple of broken hearts, she ends up back with her mother, with whom she doesn't get along, until her elderly uncle gets sick and Frannie goes to Emerald Isle to help manage his affairs while he's recovering. Her uncle's oceanfront home, CAPTAIN'S WALK, isn't fancy, and she isn't a 'beach person, ' but she decides CAPTAIN'S WALK in winter is a great place to hide from her troubles. But Frannie doesn't realize that winter is short in Emerald Isle and the beauty of the ocean and seashore can help heal anyone's heart, especially when her uncle's handyman is the handsome Brian Donovan. Brian has troubles of his own. He sees himself and Frannie as two damaged people who aren't likely to equal a happy 'whole' but he's intrigued by this woman of contradictions. Frannie's mother wants her back home and Brian wants to meet the real woman he senses is hiding behind the good manners and expensive clothing, but Frannie wants to move forward with her life. To do that she needs questions answered. With the right information there's a good chance she'll will be able to affect not only a change in her life, but also a change of heart.