In a year of historical fiction chronicling the growing independence of women emerging from the Victorian constraints of the 19th century, OF IRISH BLOOD introduces readers to a young Irish Catholic woman named Nora Kelly. Author Mary Pat Kelly draws on the real-life experiences of an aunt who broke the bonds, however reluctantly, of her culture, Irish American/Chicago upbringing and religion to plunge into a life she never would have dreamed of living through events that were shaping the world.

Nora works the switchboard at Montgomery Ward Catalogue company, but soon finds herself promoted to designing and cutting patterns for the growing popularity of women’s mail order clothing. Her eye for fashion and drawing ability will lead her to a Boston designer who pirates exclusive fashions for local celebrities and entertainers. There she meets and falls in love with Tim McShane, a roguish Irish gangster who is also the lover of aging cabaret singer Dolly McKee. Dolly becomes a regular customer of Nora’s, and not only encourages her designing skills but indulges her 14-year secret romance with McShane.

"Mary Pat Kelly draws on the real-life experiences of an aunt who broke the bonds, however reluctantly, of her culture, Irish American/Chicago upbringing and religion to plunge into a life she never would have dreamed of living through events that were shaping the world."

When McShane brutally attacks Nora in a drunken rage, Dolly helps Nora escape from Boston by sending her to a Paris couturier. There, Nora lives a Spartan life, secretly photographing and sketching designs at fashion shows and learns how to use a camera. When it’s discovered that McShane murdered Dolly, she’s declared dead by her family to protect her from being followed by the dangerous gangster. This anonymity proves helpful as she becomes more and more involved as world events unfold.

By 1914, Europe is on the brink of war. The turmoil and conflict between France, England and Germany finds friends and acquaintances on all sides. Nora’s nodding acquaintance through her connections in the fashion world with some of the most influential artists and politicians will lead her into an adventurous life as she is recruited to carry documents and photograph people and war scenes. The story takes on a Forrest Gump-like quality as she rubs elbows with the likes of Matisse, Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Coco Chanel, William Yeats, members of British and French nobility, and eventually leaders from both sides of the Irish revolution. 

Nora’s Irish ancestry proves an irresistible pull as the infamous Irish rebellion between North and South enters into the conflict that remains uneasy nearly a century later. 

During the past year, we have seen this fascinating era of early evolution of women’s rights unfold through the eyes of Anita Diamant in THE BOSTON GIRL, the story of a young Jewish woman; Priya Parmar in VANESSA AND HER SISTER, about Vanessa Bell and her sister, Virginia Woolf, of English nobility background; and now, thankfully, Mary Pat Kelly. Each novel offers a similar yet different perspective on the ways in which culture and religion played an important while diminishing role in women’s lives.