When Hannah Played Ragtime - Cook, Vera Jane

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Résumé :
When Hannah Reilly leaves Ireland and steps off the ship on the shores of Ellis Island in 1912 she has no idea that it is not a convent that awaits her. It is a man who finds her far too beautiful to marry God. Madly in love, Hannah and Wade settle in Jacksonville, Florida, where the world holds the promise of sunshine. They have two wonderful children before life changes and Wade turns to bootlegging and other women. When Hannah refuses to abort her third child Wade leaves Hannah for a future with a wealthy St. Louis woman but when the depression swallows him whole Wade learns that going back is not an option. Within the darkness of disappointment and despair Hannah finds unlikely friendship with a nun from the nearby convent and miracles that show up, however briefly, to mend her broken heart. A tale of loss, passion, friendship and despair, Hannah struggles with the overshadowing of mistakes and the lingering music of her life.

Biographie:
Vera Jane Cook (Jane to friends and family) was born in New York City and has been a city girl ever since. As an only child, she turned to reading novels at an early age and was deeply influenced by an eclectic group of authors. Before Jane became a writer, she worked in the professional theatre and appeared on television, in regional theatre, film and off Broadway. At the age of fifty Jane began to write novels. Some of her titles include Dancing Backward in Paradise, winner of an Eric Hoffer Award for publishing excellence and an Indie Excellence Award for notable new fiction, 2007. The Story of Sassy Sweetwater and Dancing Backward in Paradise received 5 Star ForeWord Clarion Reviews and The Story of Sassy Sweetwater was named a finalist for the ForeWord Book of the Year Awards. She has published in ESL Magazine, Christopher Street Magazine and has written early childhood curriculum for Weekly Reader and McGraw Hill.Jane still lives on the upper west side of Manhattan right near Riverside Park where she takes her delightful dogs for a jog, Peanut and Carly. She comes home to her spouse of thirty years and her two cats, Sassy and Sweetie Pie. She works at a day job, Learning Ally, a nonprofit organization that helps struggling readers develop a lifelong love of reading and a passion for books.