Heather Barbieri
Author of The Lace Makers of Glenmara
Works by Heather Barbieri
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Barbieri, Heather
- Legal name
- Barbieri, Heather Doran
- Birthdate
- 1963
- Gender
- female
- Awards and honors
- Seattle Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship; Artist Trust/WA State Arts Commission Fellowship; SCBWI work in progress grant; Ian St. James International Short Fiction Prize, etc.
- Agent
- Emma Sweeney
- Short biography
- Heather Barbieri inherited a love of storytelling from the Irish side of her family. After surviving the Great Famine, her paternal ancestors settled in Butte, Montana, where they worked in the mines. Her impecabbly-dress maternal grandmother was a descendent of a lady in waiting to Queen Victoria and instilled an avid interest in fashion and reading in her granddaughters. Before turning to writing fiction full time, Heather was a journalist, magazine editor, and film critic. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and three children.
Members
Reviews
By Heather Barbieri Lace Makers of Glenmara, The (1st Frist Edition) [Hardcover] by Heather Barbieri
This charming and engaging tale is, at its heart, about the patterns in our lives – intertwining, growing from the airiest of bases, beautiful and fragile and strong all at once.
Aspiring fashion designer Kate Robinson, after a disastrous premier showing caps a string of heartbreaking losses, flees Seattle for a long-planned trip to Ireland. While it’s neither the mother-daughter pilgrimage to the ancestral homeland originally anticipated nor the fantasy honeymoon that became the amended show more plan, it was, finally, a time and space for Kate to be alone, to heal, and to re-evaluate her career plans.
When a free-range itinerary and a late-spring storm combine to fetch her up in the seaside village of Glenmara, she quickly becomes entangled with the lace making women of the title, and there’s even a hint of romance in the air.
Barbieri does a wonderful job of painting virtually all the characters and wisely keeps the romance a secondary plot thread. Even the major villain of the piece, who at times verges on caricature emerges in the end as more than just a tool created to bring some tension to the story of the lace makers and Kate’s involvement with their lives.
It’s a quick read with engaging characters, a bit of heartbreak, a bit of rural Irish folklore, and an ending full of hope. show less
Aspiring fashion designer Kate Robinson, after a disastrous premier showing caps a string of heartbreaking losses, flees Seattle for a long-planned trip to Ireland. While it’s neither the mother-daughter pilgrimage to the ancestral homeland originally anticipated nor the fantasy honeymoon that became the amended show more plan, it was, finally, a time and space for Kate to be alone, to heal, and to re-evaluate her career plans.
When a free-range itinerary and a late-spring storm combine to fetch her up in the seaside village of Glenmara, she quickly becomes entangled with the lace making women of the title, and there’s even a hint of romance in the air.
Barbieri does a wonderful job of painting virtually all the characters and wisely keeps the romance a secondary plot thread. Even the major villain of the piece, who at times verges on caricature emerges in the end as more than just a tool created to bring some tension to the story of the lace makers and Kate’s involvement with their lives.
It’s a quick read with engaging characters, a bit of heartbreak, a bit of rural Irish folklore, and an ending full of hope. show less
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 show more 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. show less
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. show less
When Nora needed a place to escape the spotlight shining on her husband's infidelity, she retreated with her daughters to the island where she was born, the island she and her father left when she was just five years old after her mother disappeared. There Nora finds an aunt who loves her, a cottage that was once a home, and the still unanswered questions about her mother's disappearance. Woven through the story is Irish mythology and a deep and abiding love of the sea.
This was a book that show more once I started, I couldn't put down. The writing style is wonderful, as is the way the author weaves in old fairy stories with ease. Maire and Nora are great characters, and the Annie and Ella are precocious and intelligent children trying to deal with a crumbling family and a new-found love of the sea. I would have given it five stars if more of the questions about Maeve's disappearance has been answered- at the end I still had too many questions about that to be fully satisfied with the narrative. That said, this was a truly enjoyable read; I will certainly pick up other books by the author. show less
This was a book that show more once I started, I couldn't put down. The writing style is wonderful, as is the way the author weaves in old fairy stories with ease. Maire and Nora are great characters, and the Annie and Ella are precocious and intelligent children trying to deal with a crumbling family and a new-found love of the sea. I would have given it five stars if more of the questions about Maeve's disappearance has been answered- at the end I still had too many questions about that to be fully satisfied with the narrative. That said, this was a truly enjoyable read; I will certainly pick up other books by the author. show less
Opening Sentence: ‘…Kate had been travelling the road for hours, the rain her sole companion …’
Once I started the book I couldn’t put it down, I was gradually sucked into the world of Glenmara and when the book ended it was almost as if I had come out of a daze – as if I hadn’t realised that it had all been a dream.
The story opens in Ireland, where Kate has come to lick her wounds after the death of her mother and being dumped by her boyfriend. She chose Ireland as this is show more where she was planning on coming with her mother to explore the land of their ancestors.
Taking her time, Kate wanders around the country with no fixed destination in mind. She ends up in the remote seaside village of Glenmara on market day where she meets the women of a local lace-making society. Bernie is one of those women, and a widow. She recognizes a lost soul and offers Kate a bed for the night, which turns out to be longer, and Kate joins the lace-making circle to learn the craft.
The women of the circle are a diverse group. Bernie is lonely, missing her husband with a passion; Aileen has low self-esteem and a rebellious daughter; Moira is being abused by her husband but won’t complain about him, Oona is a breast cancer survivor who no longer feels lovely, and Colleen is a fisherman’s wife who cannot relax until her husband is safely home.Kate convinces the women to use their lace-making skills to embellish plain underwear to create exquisite lingerie. The lingerie ends up with beautiful lace flowers, fish, fairies, and even skulls and bones, worked into the pattern. As each lady completes her piece the reader is drawn into their life, magic is weaved, souls soothed, and the difficulties that each of them face are overcome. Although some of the difficulties are harder to solve than others, new love unfolds, relationships are mended, and friendships deepen.
You will need a hanky – but you will laugh as well. Support cast is very good with the misguided Catholic priest Father Dominic Byrne who thinks the lace-maker’s work is evil, the enigmatic traveler William, and the angst-ridden artist, Deane Sullivan all playing their parts in the plot well. The main and support characters are all people you want to meet, and some you wouldn’t. Overall, the book is easy to read, gentle in its delivery and covers some tough topics. show less
Once I started the book I couldn’t put it down, I was gradually sucked into the world of Glenmara and when the book ended it was almost as if I had come out of a daze – as if I hadn’t realised that it had all been a dream.
The story opens in Ireland, where Kate has come to lick her wounds after the death of her mother and being dumped by her boyfriend. She chose Ireland as this is show more where she was planning on coming with her mother to explore the land of their ancestors.
Taking her time, Kate wanders around the country with no fixed destination in mind. She ends up in the remote seaside village of Glenmara on market day where she meets the women of a local lace-making society. Bernie is one of those women, and a widow. She recognizes a lost soul and offers Kate a bed for the night, which turns out to be longer, and Kate joins the lace-making circle to learn the craft.
The women of the circle are a diverse group. Bernie is lonely, missing her husband with a passion; Aileen has low self-esteem and a rebellious daughter; Moira is being abused by her husband but won’t complain about him, Oona is a breast cancer survivor who no longer feels lovely, and Colleen is a fisherman’s wife who cannot relax until her husband is safely home.Kate convinces the women to use their lace-making skills to embellish plain underwear to create exquisite lingerie. The lingerie ends up with beautiful lace flowers, fish, fairies, and even skulls and bones, worked into the pattern. As each lady completes her piece the reader is drawn into their life, magic is weaved, souls soothed, and the difficulties that each of them face are overcome. Although some of the difficulties are harder to solve than others, new love unfolds, relationships are mended, and friendships deepen.
You will need a hanky – but you will laugh as well. Support cast is very good with the misguided Catholic priest Father Dominic Byrne who thinks the lace-maker’s work is evil, the enigmatic traveler William, and the angst-ridden artist, Deane Sullivan all playing their parts in the plot well. The main and support characters are all people you want to meet, and some you wouldn’t. Overall, the book is easy to read, gentle in its delivery and covers some tough topics. show less
Lists
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 3
- Members
- 805
- Popularity
- #31,684
- Rating
- 3.4
- Reviews
- 51
- ISBNs
- 24
- Languages
- 2
- Favorited
- 3
