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Emily Hourican
Represented By: Ivan Mulcahy
Emily Hourican is the author of nine bestselling novels and one book of non-fiction. Her most recent novel, A Kennedy Affair, was published in October 2024.
Her first novel, The Privileged, was published in 2016 and was short-listed for the Best Popular Fiction Award at the 2016 Irish Book Awards. In 2019 she began writing historical fiction, and has since published five acclaimed, best-selling historical novels set around the Guinness and Kennedy families. She has been a finalist in the Irish Book Awards three times.
Emily’s first children’s book, aimed at readers aged 9-11, will be published by Scholastic in March 2026.
She is currently developing a six-part TV series based on her novel The Outsider with Treasure Films, and a feature film with director Neasa Hardiman, both projects are supported by Screen Ireland.
She is also an award-winning editor and journalist with the Sunday Independent, Ireland’s biggest-selling newspaper.
Represented By: Ivan Mulcahy
Emily Hourican is the author of nine bestselling novels and one book of non-fiction. Her most recent novel, A Kennedy Affair, was published in October 2024.
Her first novel, The Privileged, was published in 2016 and was short-listed for the Best Popular Fiction Award at the 2016 Irish Book Awards. In 2019 she began writing historical fiction, and has since published five acclaimed, best-selling historical novels set around the Guinness and Kennedy families. She has been a finalist in the Irish Book Awards three times.
Emily’s first children’s book, aimed at readers aged 9-11, will be published by Scholastic in March 2026.
She is currently developing a six-part TV series based on her novel The Outsider with Treasure Films, and a feature film with director Neasa Hardiman, both projects are supported by Screen Ireland.
She is also an award-winning editor and journalist with the Sunday Independent, Ireland’s biggest-selling newspaper.
Published Works
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Genre Fiction
Powerful historical WW2 fiction about friendship and forbidden passion, inspired by true events.
Two powerful families. A changing world.
London, 1943: Boston-native Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy has returned to the city she loves, hoping to reunite with Billy
Cavendish, the man she wishes to marry. But with their parents forbidding the match, London a shell of its former
self following the Blitz, and Billy facing constant danger as an officer in the British Army, their future together looks
anything but certain.
Kick's friend Lady Brigid Guinness has swapped high fashion and exclusive dinner parties for long shifts as a nurse helping wounded soldiers. And, in secret, she writes letters to a man shunned by her inner circle.
Meanwhile, wide-eyed Sissy Maddington has arrived from Ireland to visit the Guinness family, eager to explore
everything London seems to offer, and hoping never to return home.
As the three young women navigate an ever-changing city, they find themselves less sure than ever of what tomorrow will bring. Is the key to happiness leaving behind the worlds they came from, and the people in them? Or is happiness even possible, with all that lies ahead?
“Hourican expertly weaves her elegant fictional magic”
- THE GLOSS
“A gloriously good read”
- The Sunday Independent“An absolute page-turner”
- Irish Independent
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Genre Fiction
A story of the scandals and secrets of the famous society girls
The Glorious Guinness Girls are the toast of London and Dublin society. Darlings of the press, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh lead charmed existences that are the envy of many.
But Fliss knows better. Sent to live with them as a child, she grows up as part of the family and only she knows of the complex lives beneath the glamorous surface.
Then, at a party one summer's evening, something happens which sends shockwaves through the entire household. In the aftermath, as the Guinness sisters move on, Fliss is forced to examine her place in their world and decide if where she finds herself is where she truly belongs.
Set amid the turmoil of the Irish Civil War and the brittle glamour of 1920s London, The Glorious Guinness Girls is inspired by one of the most fascinating family dynasties in the world - an unforgettable novel of reckless youth, family loyalty and destiny.
“Bright, pacy... Fans of Downton Abbey will adore this, and it would be surprising if the book weren't made into a luscious mini-series.”
- The Sunday Times“A captivating and page-turning novel about a fascinating family. Fantastic.”
- Sinéad Moriarty“The Glorious Guinness Girls has already been compared, and rightly so, to Downton Abbey. The two share a delicious comfort-blanket quality, only in the book's case, you do not need to wait until Sunday evenings before availing of its escapist properties.”
- Irish Independent“A must for all Downton Abbey fans, The Glorious Guinness Girls is a gorgeous book, a captivating tale about a young girl caught up in the lifestyle of a family that continues to fascinate - the Guinness Family. A joy to read.”
- Swirl and Thread
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Fiction, Genre Fiction
It's the dawn of the 1930s and the three privileged Guinness sisters, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh, settle into becoming wives and mothers: Aileen in Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, Maureen in Clandeboye in Northern Ireland, and Oonagh in Rutland Place in London.
But while Britain becomes increasingly politically polarised, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh discover conflict within their own marriages.
Oonagh's dream of romantic love is countered by her husband's lies; the intense nature of Maureen's marriage means passion, but also rows; while Aileen begins to discover that, for her, being married offers far less than she had expected.
Meanwhile, Kathleen, a housemaid from their childhood home in Glenmaroon, travels between the three sisters, helping, listening, watching - even as her own life brings her into conflict with the clash between fascism and communism.
As affairs are uncovered and secrets exposed, the three women begin to realise that their guiled upbringing could not have prepared them for the realities of married life, nor for the scandals that seem to follow them around.
“A bright, pacy, readable account of the early lives of these extraordinary women . . . fans of DowntonAbbey will adore this.”
- Sunday Times“The story combines the intimacy of a family drama, set against the most opulent of backdrops, with sweeping historical themes. The tragic fragility of so many of the Guinness Girls' set - that ability to burn bright, but burn fast, is perfectly captured here.”
- Irish Independent“Much more than a rose-tinted, nostalgic Downtonesque homage to a lost era... Hourican incisively questions the gender values and social mores of the aristocratic circles within which the Guinness family move.”
- Sunday Independent“Glorious! Glamorous, feisty women living through shifting times. Wonderful escapism.”
- Tracey Rees
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Fiction, Genre Fiction
Honor Guinness is rich, aristocratic, shy and awkward -- nothing like her glamorous cousins Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh.
But when she marries charming and ambitious American, Henry 'Chips' Channon, together they make the perfect couple at the heart of the most elite social circles -- including a close friendship with the Prince of Wales and Mrs Wallis Simpson. But within the marriage, all is less than perfect.
Meanwhile, Honor's best friend, the beautiful, enigmatic Doris, is set on establishing her place in London society. But, as tensions rise in 1930s Europe, Doris, born to a German-Jewish mother, hears troubling accounts from her cousins in Berlin. Will she be able to secure the right marriage to protect her family, and her future?
Set against the rise of Nazism, the abdication of a king, and the slide into World War II, The Other Guinness Girl is a sweeping novel of love, desire, friendship and self-discovery.
“A gloriously good read”
- Life Magazine“The best of the family sagas... Masterfully and glamorously told... essential reading for history and gossip loves alike.”
- The Sunday Business Post“A fascinating read”
- Sunday Independent“A mix of meticulous research and imagination…a fascinating read”
- The Sunday Business Post
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Fiction, Genre Fiction
Captivating pre-WW2 historical fiction about high society, forbidden love and a world on the cusp of change, inspired by real events.
Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy, recently arrived from Boston, is already a huge hit in 1930s London society. As the daughter of the US ambassador, she is at the centre of the most elite social circles. But when she falls for a duke-in-waiting, she realises there are plenty of people who think she doesn't belong.
Lady Brigid Guinness has no interest in love, marriage or society connections. But her brother-in-law Chips Channon has other ideas - and seems intent on pushing her towards a match with a dull German prince.
When Chips invites the Kennedys and a select group of friends and family to Kelvedon Hall, his country estate, Brigid and Kick discover that beneath the brittle facade of politeness, marriages are on the rocks, political intrigue abounds and nothing is really as it seems - all while the war in Europe grows closer by the day.
By the time their week in Essex has ended, both Kick and Brigid realise that their world is changing rapidly, and their hopes and plans for the future may have to change too…
Inspired by true-life events, An Invitation to the Kennedysis a spell-binding page-turner from the bestselling author of the Guinness Girls series.
“Perfect for fans of The Crown and Downton Abbey.”
- Hazel Gaynor, bestselling author of The Last Lifeboat“A breathtakingly glamorous and escapist read.”
- Irish Times“Full of rich details and dizzying descriptions worthy of Downton, it's a really enjoyable piece of escapism.”
- Woman’s Way
Author: Emily Hourican
Genres: Children’s
Two girls who live in a hotel are drawn into a murder mystery in this charming, classic-feeling cosy-crime children's debut from bestselling Irish author Emily Hourican - perfect for fans of Murder Most Unladylike, The Swifts and Enid Blyton.
Twelve-year-old Meredith and ten-year-old Macy feel like the luckiest girls around. The Ivy Hotel in Dublin is old, beautiful and beloved, with a tight-knit staff that feel like family, and they get to call it home.
Meredith and Macy's mum is the General Manager, and their modest apartment is tucked away in a corner, but it has lots of perks. The girls make friends with long-term residents - like Colin, the quiet little boy who plays piano, and Agatha, the eccentric older lady who stays in a plush suite with her dog, Milo.
The girls love spying on fancy events, sneaky treats from the restaurant and knowing all the secret stairs and corridors that guests never see, where the staff move around invisibly, making sure everything runs like clockwork...
This is going to come in handy. Because within the cosy walls of the Ivy Hotel, there is also danger, intrigue and threat. Just as the hotel's new owners arrive, ready to sniff out any excuse to make cuts and fire staff, the girls are faced with their biggest task yet: a murder to solve.
A welcoming and super-cosy hotel setting with a loveable cast of characters and a dash of danger, perfect for mystery fans age 9-12.
Alternating perspectives from two brilliant sisters - responsible and emotional Meredith and fierce, logical Macy.
Full of suspense, sleuthing and twisting discoveries, as the kids take the lead, working to cleverly uncover the identity of a mysterious guest and his even more mysterious death...