"Three women in nineteenth-century Ireland are drawn together in the hope of rescuing a child from a superstitious community. Nora, bereft after the sudden death of her beloved husband, finds herself alone and caring for her young grandson, Micheal. Micheal cannot speak and cannot walk, and Nora is desperate to know what is wrong with him. What happened to the healthy, happy grandson she met when her daughter was still alive? Mary arrives in the valley to help Nora just as the whispers are spreading: the stories of unexplained misfortunes, of illnesses, and the rumors that Micheal is a changeling child who is bringing bad luck to the valley. Determined to banish the evil in Micheal, Nora and Mary enlist the help of the elderly Nance, a recluse and wanderer once revered by her neighbors for her healing powers but now condemned as a fraud and a threat by the new priest in town. She understands the magic of the old ways. And she might be able to help Micheal. As these three women are brou

Hedged in by gossip and joined by their desperation, three women in nineteenth-century Ireland are drawn together in the hope of rescuing a child from a superstitious community.

Three women in nineteenth-century Ireland bond over a shared effort to rescue a child from a superstitious community that believes that his trauma-related inability to speak indicates that he is a changeling responsible for a series of misfortunes.

Short-listed for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction One of Entertainment Weekly's " Must-Read" books for Fall From the author of Burial Rites, "a literary novel with the pace and tension of a thriller that takes us on a frightening journey towards an unspeakable tragedy."--Paula Hawkins, bestselling author of The Girl on the Train Based on true events in nineteenth century Ireland, Hannah Kent's startling new novel tells the story of three women, drawn together to rescue child from a superstitious community. Nora, bereft after the death of her husband, finds herself alone and caring for her grandson Micheál, who can neither speak nor walk. A handmaid, Mary, arrives to help Nóra just as rumors begin to spread that Micheál is a changeling child who is bringing bad luck to the valley. Determined to banish evil, Nora and Mary enlist the help of Nance, an elderly wanderer who understands the magic of the old ways. Set in a lost world bound by its own laws, THE GOOD PEOPLE is Hann