My Lady of the Chimney Corner: A Story of Love and Poverty in Irish Peasant Life

On January 19th, 1863, when the spectre of the Great Famine still loomed over the land, Alexander Irvine was born into dire poverty in the town of Antrim. His parents had broken with convention and had done the unthinkable in Ireland - they had entered into a 'mixed' marriage. Anna, his mother, was a Catholic, and Jamie, his father, was an illiterate Protestant shoemaker. The social stigma of the relationship forced them to leave their native village of Crumlin to seek a more anonymous existence, away from their respective families and from the people among whom they had been raised. Their subsequent life together was a story of penury and hunger, an oppressive and relentless struggle for survival. But, throughout it all, they had one invaluable gift - a deep love for one another and for the children born of that love.

Despite his bare-footed and hunger-panged start in life, Irvine was destined to make his mark on the world as a successful minister and author. He learned how to read and write when he had left his home far behind, but he never forgot the lessons in love and life that he had learned at his mother's knee. My Lady of the Chimney Corner is his loving tribute to her. It is a book that teaches much and touches the soul. It transcends place and time. This edition, with the text reset, includes illustrations by George Ogilvy Reid, a new introduction, footnotes and a glossary of words and phrases.