About the Book    In an extraordinary, true tale of "the Orange and the Green," The Hawthorn Bush chronicles the parallel lives of two families - one Ulster Presbyterian, the other Irish Catholic - in their quest for religious freedom. Based on the rich ancestral heritage of its author, this historical novel recaptures important snapshots in time, from the Fenian uprisings to the assassination of Thomas D´Arcy McGee. Beginning at the walls of Derry during the city´s epic 1689 siege, The Hawthorn Bush follows the families from Ireland to the distant shores of America and Canada where they wage war on a new battlefront. A sweeping saga of an uncelebrated chapter in Canada´s history, The Hawthorn Bush recognizes the important contribution of the Irish to nation building.

About the Author    Thelma Ann Brennan is a gifted New Brunswick writer whose diverse body of work ranges from two historical novels to two collections of poetry.
   Publications to her credit include The Real Klondike Kate, the nationally acclaimed biography of Katherine Ryan, a heroine of the north who made Canadian history as the first female member of the North West Mounted Police.
   Now, another historical novel by Brennan is hitting bookshelves in Canada, retracing the cross-Atlantic journeys of her Presbyterian Scot and Irish Catholic ancestors. Published by Borealis Press in November 2005, The Hawthorne Bush is an extraordinary tale of the ´orange and the green,´ highlighting the Irish contribution to Canada´s nationhood.
   A founding member of the New Brunswick Writers Federation, Brennan has co-authored two books of poetry - Cameos and Feathers & Shells - with her daughter Pattie and friend Dawn Lockwood. She remains involved in the federation along with Pen Canada, the Writers Union of Canada and the Canadian Association of Irish Studies. Her work has also appeared in Cormorant, Canadian Women's Studies, Vox Feminarium and Stories in My Neighbours´ Faith.
   She is an active participant in New Brunswick´s Writers in Schools Program, encouraging youth to discover their heritage through their own research and documentation of local history.
   Recognized for her many contributions to the arts and cultural communities, Brennan is a trustee of the Museum of Civilization and War Museum of Canada in Ottawa. Her long history of civic participation also includes her service as an election observer with the Canadian mission to the Ukraine in December, 2004. Committed to the enhancement of Canadian-Irish relations, Brennan brought together 110 musicians, actors and historians from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for a three-week performing arts tour of New Brunswick in 1991. She led a similar exchange two years later in support of the peace initiative in Northern Ireland.
   As a writer, her work has taken her to Ireland where she was a guest lecturer at the Charles Macklin Autumn School in Culdaff, Ireland to British Columbia and the Yukon for a special, anniversary book tour.
   Brennan lives in Johnville in western N.B. with her husband Raymond where they welcome visits by their six children and nine grandchildren. When not working on her manuscript, Brennan has been working toward a masters degree in environmental history which she hopes to complete in the new year.