Becoming Belle

'Luminous' SEBASTIAN BARRY

'Incandescent characters and mellifluous prose' LISA CAREY

'Reminiscent of Edith Wharton at her very best' LIZ NUGENT

The true story of a woman ahead of her time . . .

In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.

Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.

Praise for BECOMING BELLE

'Nuala O'Connor has the thrilling ability to step back nimbly and enter the deep dance of time. This is a hidden history laid luminously before us of an exultant Anglo-Irish woman navigating the dark shoals and the bright fields of a life' SEBASTIAN BARRY, award-winning author of The Secret Scripture and Days Without End

'Becoming Belle is so mesmerizing you will be distraught when it ends.O'Connor has resurrected a fiery, inexorable woman who rewrites the script on a stage supposedly ruled by men. Sensual, witty, daring, and unapologetically forward.' Lisa Carey, author of The Stolen Child

'Belle's determination to live her life on her own terms and in defiance of her times makes her a fascinating subject' Irish Central

'Masterful storytelling! I was putty in Nuala O'Connor's hands. She made the unsinkable Belle Bilton and her down-to-earth sister Flo real to me, and brought 1880's London to my living room. Encore! Encore!' Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe

'A glorious novel in which Belle Bilton and 19th century London are brought roaring to life with exquisite period detail' Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of A Memory of Violets

'Thoroughly engrossing and entertaining read' Liz Nugent

'Thrillingly dramatic and achingly moving and profoundly resonant into this present era' Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

'O'Connor gently unfolds Belle's tale in a manner that is compelling and disarming. The ambience may be Victorian eleganc

Nuala O'Connor (aka Nuala Ni Chonchuir) was born in Dublin, Ireland, she lives in East Galway. Her fifth short story collection Joyride to Jupiter was published by New Island in 2017; her story 'Consolata' from that collection was shortlisted for Short Story of the Year at the 2017 Irish Book Awards.

Nuala's third novel, Miss Emily, about the poet Emily Dickinson and her Irish maid, was shortlisted for the Eason Book Club Novel of the Year 2015 and longlisted for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award.

Nuala's fourth novel, Becoming Belle, will be published in August 2018.

'Luminous' SEBASTIAN BARRY 'Incandescent characters and mellifluous prose' LISA CAREY 'Reminiscent of Edith Wharton at her very best' LIZ NUGENT The true story of a woman ahead of her time . . . In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed "the peasant countess" by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle's rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down. Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.Praise for BECOMING BELLE 'Nuala O'Connor has the thrilling ability to step back nimbly and enter the deep dance of time. T his is a hidden history laid luminously before us of an exultant Anglo-Irish woman navigating the dark shoals and the bright fields of a life' SEBASTIAN BARRY, award-winning author of The Secret Scripture and Days Without End ' Becoming Belle is so mesmerizing you will be distraught when it ends.O'Connor has resurrected a fiery, inexorable woman who rewrites the script on a stage supposedly ruled by men. Sensual, witty, daring, and unapologetically forward. ' Lisa Carey, author of The Stolen Child 'Belle's determination to live her life on her own terms and in defiance of her times makes her a fascinating subject ' Irish Central 'Masterful storytelling! I was putty in Nuala O'Connor's hands . She made the unsinkable Belle Bilton and her down-to-earth sister Flo real to me, and brought 1880's London to my living room. Encore! Encore!' Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe 'A glorious novel in which Belle Bilton and 19th century London are brought roaring to life with exquisite period detail' Hazel Gaynor, New York Times bestselling author of A Memory of Violets 'Thoroughly engrossing and entertaining read' Liz Nugent 'Thrillingly dramatic and achingly moving and profoundly resonant into this present era' Robert Olen Butler, author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain 'O'Connor gently unfolds Belle's tale in a manner that is compelling and disarming. The ambience may be Victorian eleganc

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