Hachette Ireland to publish fictional account of Guinness sisters

Hachette Books Ireland has acquired two books by Irish author and journalist Emily Hourican who was inspired by the real-life story of the Guinness founder's daughters. 

Editorial director Ciara Doorley bought world rights from Ivan Mulcahy at MMB Creative.

Set in the 1920s, The Glorious Guinness Girls will follow the lives of Ernest Guinness' three daughters, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh, and will take the society girls from the post-war glamour of London to Ireland during a period of social and political unrest. Sherise Hobbs at Headline has already acquired UK rights.

Doorley said, "The three Guinness sisters were privileged and glamorous, society ‘IT girls’ but they were also enigmatic and complicated women. In The Glorious Guinness Girls, Emily has done a truly amazing job in bringing them to life, allowing us a glimpse into their world and how they lived and loved, and the result is a sumptuous, imaginative, sweeping novel –one we’ve very excited and proud to be publishing this autumn."

"Never before have I been so excited to delve into research but also to let my imagination run riot, wondering what it would have been like to live in that world," said Hourican. "The Glorious Guinness Girls, which features some fictional and many real characters, has been a dream project."

The Glorious Guinness Girls will be published on 17th September 2020 in trade paperback, e-book and audio.