The author, Aoife Mannix, a Dublin native now residing in the UK, has a rich portfolio that includes five poetry collections and four librettos. Her novel 'Heritage of Secrets,' set for reissue in 2021, showcases her literary versatility. Notably, she won the James Tate Poetry Prize in 2020, highlighting her talent and recognition in the literary community. Mannix's work reflects her unique experiences and insights, making her contributions to poetry and fiction noteworthy.
The collection opens with poignant poems reflecting Aoife Mannix's journey through cancer recovery and surgery. As she navigates her personal transformation, the impact of the global pandemic reshapes her perception of the outside world. These themes of resilience and change intertwine, exploring both individual and collective experiences during challenging times.
Heritage of Secrets echoes Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd in more than just the name of the American sailor, Troy, but it is unmistakeably of a new age of sexual politics in 1970s Ireland, in a small town that frowns on any deviation from long-established norms.