MOORE, Ann (Schweinler) 1959-

PERSONAL: Born June 2, 1959, in Oxfordshire, England; daughter of David (an attorney) and Elizabeth (a teacher and homemaker) Schweinler; married Rick Moore (a real estate developer), April 27, 1985; children: Nigel Andrew, Gracelin Elizabeth. Education: Western Washington University, B.A., 1981, M.A., 1990. Religion: Lutheran. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, swimming, biking, camping, travel.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Jean Naggar, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, 216 E. 75th St., New York, NY 10021.

CAREER: Author.

MEMBER: Pacific Northwest Writers Association.

AWARDS, HONORS: Nelson Algren Award, Chicago Tribune, 1997, for short fiction, for short story "A Long Time Getting to Know You."

WRITINGS:

Gracelin O'Malley, New American Library (New York, NY), 2001.

Leaving Ireland, New American Library (New York, NY), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The third book in the "Gracelin O'Malley" trilogy.

SIDELIGHTS: Ann Moore is the author of historical novels set in the 1840s. The novels feature the plucky and determined heroine Gracelin O'Malley, who must face villains and hardships both in Ireland and America. In addition to plenty of action and romantic subplots, the novels take an unflinching look at nineteenth-century society and the downtrodden people of the era as they struggle to survive.

When Moore began her novels, the setting was to be in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, where Moore grew up as a voracious reader. Furthermore, Moore created O'Malley initially as a secondary character who immigrated to the area after the great Irish potato famine of 1845. But all that changed after Moore began researching Irish history. In an interview on the Penguin Putnam publishers Web site, Moore explained that she was impressed by the Irish peoples' "continued optimism in the face of extreme poverty, their spirit and simple joy in living each day, their love for their children and pride in their heritage as the descendants of kings. It became almost immediately clear that what I was truly meant to write was the story of this young woman, and the incredible people who were her countrymen."

In the first book, aptly named Gracelin O'Malley, Moore tells the tale of the fifteen-year-old O'Malley, who marries a widowed English landowner who is also her family's landlord. For O'Malley the marriage is one of necessity to help protect her family from being evicted from the land during Ireland's great potato famine, which killed millions of Irish people in the 1840s. For the dastardly Bram Donnelly, he has already been widowed twice and is looking for someone to produce a male heir to the family fortunes. O'Malley bears Donnelly a son and a daughter, but the son dies as an infant. The vicious Donnelly considers O'Malley an uncivilized Irish woman and treats her badly, even beating her when she is pregnant. Through it all, O'Malley perseveres as a heroine determined to make a better life for herself and her daughter.

A contributor to Kirkus Reviews called Gracelin O'Malley a "deft if unshaded celebration of the usually strong and beautiful woman." Susan G. Allison, writing in Kliatt, commented, "Beautiful descriptions of the countryside, the lilting Irish brogue, and the colorfully drawn characters bring to life rural Ireland of the 1840s." A reviewer writing in Publishers Weekly noted that Moore brought the troubles of Ireland and the brutality of its overseers "to grim life in this realistic tale." The reviewer also wrote that "Moore's refusal to ignore the stark plight of the Irish and her lyrical, pitch-perfect prose raise this book far above the romance genre and make for historical fiction at its finest."

In her next book, Leaving Ireland, the now twenty-year-old O'Malley must flee Ireland after killing a British man. Although she takes her daughter with her, she must leave behind a son that she has had in a second marriage after her British nobleman husband was killed. As she crosses the ocean, O'Malley is far from escaping trials and tribulations as she and her fellow passengers are transported in filthy, subhuman conditions. As many of them begin to die, O'Malley demands that they be cared for, making an enemy of the ship's doctor. She also makes another sadistic enemy in the form of the ship's steward, who hates the Irish. Both the doctor and the steward vow to destroy O'Malley's life in the New World. Struggling to survive in the unsanitary and crime-ridden slums of New York, O'Malley moves in with her brother, Sean, befriends a runaway slave, and continues to battle injustice—becoming an abolitionist and fighting anti-Irish prejudice. Already twice widowed, O'Malley also has a new love interest, the American Captain Reindeers whom she met on the voyage and who helped her survive.

Some reviewers found that Leaving Ireland contained too many subplots that overwhelmed the narrative. In Best Reviews, Harriet Klausner remarked that the result was "at the cost of the key character development." In Kirkus Reviews, a contributor commented that the heroine "seems increasingly a stereotypical strong woman . . . [rather] than a more convincing creation." Many reviewers, however, found both the action and character development accomplished. Neal Wyatt, writing in Booklist, noted, "Strong and likable characters and a well-paced story will make readers look forward to Gracelin's next appearance." A Publishers Weekly contributor commented, "The relentless drama of Grace's fight to survive, as well as the rich contextual details, make Moore's sophomore effort as absorbing and accomplished as her first novel."

Moore is working on the final book in the planned trilogy about O'Malley. As for her character's willingness to expose herself to danger and fight for what she believes in, Moore has acknowledged that self-sacrifice is a major theme in her books. In the Penguin Putnam Web site interview, Moore noted, "Often, people who lead struggles against oppression and tyranny are those who believe that man's right to govern his own life with freedom and dignity is God-given, and that the battle is really between good and evil in the world, a battle which then transcends the individual."

Ann Moore told CA: "The wonderful thing about being a writer is that there is no mandatory retirement, and so I look forward to many long, happy years in my little room with a window on the garden, watching the morning unfold as I slip away into another century."