Time of the Child

From the author of This Is Happiness, a compassionate, life-affirming novel about the Christmas season that transforms the small Irish town of Faha.

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from the town. A visit from the doctor is a sign of bad things to come. His eldest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed one chance at real love—and passed up another offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the Advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.

Set over the course of one December in the same village as Williams’ beloved This Is Happiness, Time of the Child is a tender return to Faha for readers who know its charms, and a heartwarming welcome to new readers entering for the very first time.

About the Author

Niall Williams was born in Dublin. He is the author of nine novels, including History of the Rain, which was long listed for the Booker Prize and Four Letters of Love, which will soon be a major motion picture starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabriel Byrne. His most recent novel, This Is Happiness was nominated for The Irish Books Award, The Walter Scott Prize, and was one of the Washington Post’s Books of the Year. He lives in Kiltumper in County Clare, Ireland.