This novel deals with the burning-out of an Anglo-Irish family in 1922 and what happens to them during the subsequent ten years. The backdrop for most of the novel is a Georgian house in Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin, where the family try to deal with the new Ireland in their different ways.
FOOTPRINT UPON WATER is a compelling novel, spanning forty years in the life of an Anglo-Irish family struggling to come to terms with a frightening new Ireland. With the sudden death of their overbearing father, the Fellows sisters of Fellowescourt find themselves plunged into a hostile world, where the old attitudes of religious and political superiority seem increasingly irrelevant. The elder sister Katherine, whose passionate nature has been repressed and distorted by her Victorian ideals of duty and self-sacrifice, works desperately to keep the home together and make her sisters face the realities of the loss of the family fortune. But their new poverty combines with war, illness and rapidly- changing times, to frustrate her efforts, threatening her only hope of happiness - as the wife of Lawrence, the gentle, over-yielding Rector of Fellowescourt. Through it all, Katherine holds on to a central obsession - to leave her spiritual imprint on the character of her orphaned niece Susan. The clash of wills between the two reverberates through this marvellous book.
Exploring the intricate connections between family, identity, and the passage of time, this narrative weaves together the lives of multiple generations. Characters confront their pasts, revealing how shared experiences shape their present. Themes of resilience and the search for belonging are prevalent as they navigate personal struggles and familial expectations. The story emphasizes the importance of understanding one's roots while also highlighting the complexities of relationships and the impact of history on individual lives.