Although war is never beautiful, novelist Mary-Anne O’Connor shows the beauty in unlikely friendships, brotherhood, and sacrifice in her newest book “At the Going Down of the Sun”.
The novel tells the tale of the First World War, and the sacrifice of Australian pilots at Gallipoli.
At its core, the book details the courage and bravery of Australian military personnel, and the unwavering brotherhood that the horrors of war intimately creates between both friend and foe.
Amidst the chaos and backdrop of war, Mary-Anne O’Connor brings a heart-wrenching, visceral love story. With inescapable realities of war at every turn, the consequences for this love story become powerful.
Following brothers Thom and Archie Hogan, the pair become infatuated with their town’s beautiful, spirited new arrival: Molly James. But soon, both Hogan boys enlist in the impending war, and Molly travels to London to work as a nurse.
Based in northern Sydney, Mary-Anne writes historical fiction, mixing fiction and fact to prevent important tales from fading away.
Mary-Anne was inspired by her own grandfather’s experience in the First World War, and as a young child became enthralled by the story of how after being given an honourable discharge after an injury, Mary-Anne’s grandfather continued to fight.
Her first novel “Gallipoli Street” is a look into the lives of her grandfather, and all the men and women who served like him.
‘He said, “You can’t leave your mates alone”... I thought that was incredibly noble,’ says Mary-Anne. ‘But that’s how they felt. They really loved their mates, these ANZACs. They would put their life on line, shoulder to shoulder. There was no hesitation.’
“At the Going Down of the Sun” is Mary-Anne’s 10-year anniversary book since her launch of her novel “Gallipoli Street”, another historical fiction based on the same time period.
‘I hadn’t finished, there was so much more to talk about. There is just so much history,’ explains Mary-Anne. ‘I’ve woven all the fiction in the fact, making an epic love story that has a lot of truth in it about our ANZAC boys.’
Find Mary-Anne at www.maryanneoconnor.com.au
