Nell

Two distinct story lines, separated by centuries of Irish history, tenuously link the lives of two young women. In 1527, Eleanor (Nell) Fitzgerald suffers the loss of her family, slaughtered in Henry Tudor's purge of perceived threats to his reign. Twentieth-century aristocrat Jillian Fitzgerald is a childhood companion to Frankie McGuire, son of her father's collier in County Down, Northern Ireland, a friendship that culminates some 20 years later as each helps Ireland seek inner accord. Despite the strong individual story lines, the novel is weakened by its disjointed structure; it is only in the concluding notes that the author explains the connection between the stories--that the first historical event directly caused the background turmoil of the modern setting. Baker is a forceful writer of character and conflict, and readers interested in Irish history and politics will appreciate her attempt. (Feb.)