​Praise for Cynthia Neale's Writing

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"Make no mistake, although at times the language is breathtakingly lyrical, Cynthia neale tells it like it was, grit and all."
​- Deborah Swift, author of The Lady's Slipper, The Gilded Lily, and The Poison Keeper.
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"This story is filled with so much intrigue, mystery, and beauty, that you'll cling to every word while watching Norah grow into a strong, courageous, and brilliant woman, who ends up truly proud of her Irish blood."
​— Review, Feathered Quill

​"The Irish Dresser is an exciting, entertaining, and highly recommended story of taking risks and facing new challenges for the sake of hope." 
​— Midwest Book Review

Published Works by Cynthia Neale

Catharine 
Queen of the Tumbling Waters

"I'm not like your white women who lose their tongues and wits in a house full of men."

So says Catharine Montour to her white captive during the Indian depredations of the 1750s. Catharine Montour, a Métis, born during Pennsylvania's Long Peace, is nurtured by her grandmother, the celebrated Madame Montour, an interpreter for the British colonies.

Read more about Catharine, Queen of Tumbling Waters

The Irish Milliner
The Making of an Irish-American Woman in 19th Century New York The Continuing Story of Norah McCabe

It is New York City and the Civil War is brewing. Norah McCabe, an Irish immigrant who escaped the Famine as a child, is now a young widow with a daughter. A milliner, struggling to survive in tumultuous times, Norah meets Abraham Lincoln, befriends the extraordinary African-American woman Elizabeth Jennings, and assists the Underground Railroad creating hats for runaway slaves.

Read more about The Irish Milliner

Norah
The Making of an Irish-American Woman in 19th-Century New York

Scant historical attention has narrowly defined the Irish immigrant woman. And yet the rate of economic and social progress of Irish women far exceeded other immigrant women ethnicities. Norah McCabe heartbreakingly and quixotically stumbles and falls into her real self in this coming-of-age, adventurous, romantic, historical novel.

Read more about Norah

The Irish Dresser
A Story of Hope during The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mor 1845-1850)

When thirteen-year-old Nora McCabe crawls into the old dresser that sits next to the hearth holding a few pieces of her mother's china, she dreams of luscious cakes and fairies as hunger pains grip her. It is in the dresser that Nora finds hope when her father declares they must leave their beloved Ireland for America.

Read more about The Irish Dresser

Hope in New York City
The Continuing Story of The Irish Dresser

This sequel continues the saga of Nora McCabe and her family now dwelling in New York City where they encounter poverty and racism as Irish Catholics and immigrants. Injustice and violence are a matter of course in this mysterious and alluring city filled with strange languages. 

Read more about Hope in New York City

Pavlova in a Hat Box
Sweet Memories and Desserts

A pithy collection of stories and meditations that have been wrested from a country childhood and a writing life. Accompanying these vignettes are classic and new sumptuous dessert recipes redolent of the comfort of old-fashioned fare, but with an organic twist.

Read more about Pavlova in a Hat Box

Works in Progress

Click here for more information on my future endeavors