Nell

Nell

Summary

'Part Germaine Greer and part Mae West, she is not a woman you should spurn' Guardian

'Nell's distinctive voice, both written and spoken, has had a powerful and provocative place in Irish society ... fascinating ... evocative ... riveting' Irish Times

Journalist Nell McCafferty has been an iconic figure in Ireland since the 1970s. Nell is the revealing story of the woman behind the image.

Whether describing her challenging and tender relationship with her mother, Lily; her fears about being gay; war on the streets of her native Derry; the blossoming of feminism in Ireland; or the joy of finding a domestic haven with the love of her life, Nuala O'Faolain - and the pain of losing it, McCafferty doesn't spare anyone, least of all herself, in telling the truth of her life.

The result is Nell: a journey that is moving, funny, inspiring and jaw-droppingly frank.

'By turns, exasperating, illuminating, striking, self-indulgent, wrong-headed, praiseworthy, incorrigible and unignorable' Times Literary Supplement

'A wistful, funny, moving, admirable, and complex autobiography by a woman who was present as modern Ireland was created' Irish Independent

'At times wonderfully incisive, witty and sharp, at others poignant and emotional' Evening Herald

'McCafferty has a rare gift for humanising political events and providing the kind of telling detail that scorches into the memory ... for the vignettes alone, the book is worth the purchase price' Sunday Business Post

'McCafferty brings her usual passion, wit, fury and scorching honesty to her autobiography, making it a compelling and fascinating read' Belfast Telegraph

'A gossipy good read' Sunday Tribune

About the author

Nell McCafferty

Nell McCafferty was born in 1944 in Derry's Bogside. She graduated from Queen's University, Belfast and then studied in France. She was on the dole for two years in Derry, with sporadic employment as a substitute teacher, before finding her true calling with in her late twenties when she became a journalist and one of Ireland's most iconic, and sometimes controversial, commentators. She lives in Dublin.
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