Astray

Elephant trainers, counterfeiters, prostitutes, and slaves are among the intriguing historical characters who wander the pages of Irish author Donoghue's short stories. Each of the restless characters goes astray in search of love, money, security, or a better life. In a fascinating afterword, Donoghue reveals that the idea for the collection came from her own experiences as an emigrant (she moved from Dublin to England and then to Canada). Each tale is based on an event or person whose story the author unearthed from an old newspaper or archive and is followed by information on some of the research involved. Many of these richly detailed shorts are told in the first person, and the fabulous cadre of narrators (James Langton, Khristine Hvam, Robert Petkoff, Suzanne Toren, and Dion Graham) bring these little gems vividly to life.