A WISTFUL EYE-The Tragedy of a Titanic Shipwright by DJ Kelly
By D Michelle
The book is professionally produced. The story is fascinating and enjoyable. There has obviously been a lot of research gone into the story as it not only encompasses Kelly’s family history but also the local, national and international events that occurred during the time frame.
The story follows Kelly’s ancestor through the trials and tribulations of life in Belfast’s poorer Protestant areas. William Henry Kelly, his wife Belle and their small family are beset by tragedy and hardship – some of their own making – until one final tragedy changes William Henry’s life forever.
William Henry is a skilled caulker, working on the White Star Line’s fleet at Harland and Wolff’s shipyards where the Titanic was built. Their surviving children have all left home and begun their own lives as adults, making their ways as best they can in the hard times in pre-war Ireland.
Yet more tragedy befalls the family and William Henry is sent to prison. The story then begins to follow world events through snatches of newspaper clippings. I did feel that the author didn’t seem to have much material with regards to William Henry’s life because there’s not much to write about in the day to day boredom of incarceration and so, weaving the news reports of rapidly approaching World War I was a clever way of getting historical facts embedded in the story.
I did find a few errors when reading but if there were more than a few, I didn’t notice because the story was engaging and thoroughly enjoyable.
Of the few things I noticed, two of the main character’s names were misspelled, (Beasant/Besant and Belle/belle) and the word ‘now’ was overused in places but overall, an enjoyable read with some facts about Irish history that I was not aware of.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wistful-Eye-Tragedy-Titanic-Shipwright/dp/178176011X
The book is professionally produced. The story is fascinating and enjoyable. There has obviously been a lot of research gone into the story as it not only encompasses Kelly’s family history but also the local, national and international events that occurred during the time frame.
The story follows Kelly’s ancestor through the trials and tribulations of life in Belfast’s poorer Protestant areas. William Henry Kelly, his wife Belle and their small family are beset by tragedy and hardship – some of their own making – until one final tragedy changes William Henry’s life forever.
William Henry is a skilled caulker, working on the White Star Line’s fleet at Harland and Wolff’s shipyards where the Titanic was built. Their surviving children have all left home and begun their own lives as adults, making their ways as best they can in the hard times in pre-war Ireland.
Yet more tragedy befalls the family and William Henry is sent to prison. The story then begins to follow world events through snatches of newspaper clippings. I did feel that the author didn’t seem to have much material with regards to William Henry’s life because there’s not much to write about in the day to day boredom of incarceration and so, weaving the news reports of rapidly approaching World War I was a clever way of getting historical facts embedded in the story.
I did find a few errors when reading but if there were more than a few, I didn’t notice because the story was engaging and thoroughly enjoyable.
Of the few things I noticed, two of the main character’s names were misspelled, (Beasant/Besant and Belle/belle) and the word ‘now’ was overused in places but overall, an enjoyable read with some facts about Irish history that I was not aware of.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wistful-Eye-Tragedy-Titanic-Shipwright/dp/178176011X