Afternoon Reading - Foster - Episode 2

By Claire Keegan Abridged by Neville Teller A heartbreaking, haunting story of childhood, loss and love by one of Ireland's most acclaimed writers. A small girl is sent to live with her mother's people on a farm in rural Ireland, without knowing when she will return home. In the strangers' house, she finds a warmth and affection she has not known before and slowly begins to blossom in their care. And then a secret is revealed, and suddenly, she realizes how fragile her idyll is. Winner of the Davy Byrnes Memorial Prize, Foster will be published in a revised and expanded version by Faber on 2nd September 2010. Beautiful, sad and eerie, it is a story of astonishing emotional depth, showcasing Claire Keegan's great accomplishment and talent. Claire Keegan's first collection of short stories, 'Antarctica', was completed in 1998 and was awarded the Rooney Prize for Literature. Her second short story collection, 'Walk the Blue Fields', was published to enormous critical acclaim in 2007 and won her the 2008 Edge Hill Prize for Short Stories. Claire Keegan lives in County Louth, Ireland. 'Foster' is read by Evanna Lynch, best known to many for her portrayal of Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films. Producer Heather Larmour.