Desmonde // The Minstrel Boy — A.J. Cronin

Desmonde Fitzgerald is handsome, charming and blessed with a marvellous singing voice - he is the Minstrel Boy. He becomes a priest, winning the coveted Golden Chalice for his singing when in seminary school abroad. But the duality of nature threatens to destroy the brilliant future that lies before him. Beloved of his parishioners and canon, he is devastatingly attractive to women, in particular the wealthy patron of his church at Kilbarrack, Ireland. But it is not until her wayward and sensual niece, Claire, arrives that disaster strikes . . .

In the magnificent narrative tradition of The Citadel, The Stars Look Down and Cronin's other classic novels, The Minstrel Boy is a great book by a much-loved author