The Boy from Dublin
Finn O’Byrne has spent his life running from his past.
As an Irishman navigating working class London in 1956, Finn is determined to reclaim everything that has been stolen from him—no matter the cost.
When he meets Margaret Baumann, a posh English girl far beyond his reach, new ambitions are quickly ignited.
Fighting against class imbalances, as well as the haunting family history which he cannot seem to outrun, Finn finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into London’s underbelly, quickly becoming a front runner for East London’s most notorious gangster brothers, George and Gerry Faustus. He works hard to keep his growing relationship with Margaret separate from his criminal ties, but as the lines between his two worlds begin to blur, keeping them apart becomes impossible—and the consequences could be devastating.
With his future on the line, Finn fights for a place to belong, careening against the pull of a darker life that promises everything he once had. In a story of poverty, corruption, love, and grief, he must decide where home truly lies: in the arms of the girl he loves, or in the shadow of a past that refuses to let him go.
BRONWYN BRENNAN is a writer and hockey instructor based in Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in English Literature, she has published short fiction in student-led journals across Canada. Inspired by the life of her late grandfather, her debut novel, The Boy From Dublin, is a story of resilience, family, and eternal optimism following a teenage boy’s emigration to working-class London in the mid-1950s. When she's not writing, she can often be found at the rink, coaching the next generation of hockey players.
Finn O’Byrne has spent his life running from his past.
As an Irishman navigating working class London in 1956, Finn is determined to reclaim everything that has been stolen from him—no matter the cost.
When he meets Margaret Baumann, a posh English girl far beyond his reach, new ambitions are quickly ignited.
Fighting against class imbalances, as well as the haunting family history which he cannot seem to outrun, Finn finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into London’s underbelly, quickly becoming a front runner for East London’s most notorious gangster brothers, George and Gerry Faustus. He works hard to keep his growing relationship with Margaret separate from his criminal ties, but as the lines between his two worlds begin to blur, keeping them apart becomes impossible—and the consequences could be devastating.
With his future on the line, Finn fights for a place to belong, careening against the pull of a darker life that promises everything he once had. In a story of poverty, corruption, love, and grief, he must decide where home truly lies: in the arms of the girl he loves, or in the shadow of a past that refuses to let him go.
BRONWYN BRENNAN is a writer and hockey instructor based in Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in English Literature, she has published short fiction in student-led journals across Canada. Inspired by the life of her late grandfather, her debut novel, The Boy From Dublin, is a story of resilience, family, and eternal optimism following a teenage boy’s emigration to working-class London in the mid-1950s. When she's not writing, she can often be found at the rink, coaching the next generation of hockey players.
Finn O’Byrne has spent his life running from his past.
As an Irishman navigating working class London in 1956, Finn is determined to reclaim everything that has been stolen from him—no matter the cost.
When he meets Margaret Baumann, a posh English girl far beyond his reach, new ambitions are quickly ignited.
Fighting against class imbalances, as well as the haunting family history which he cannot seem to outrun, Finn finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into London’s underbelly, quickly becoming a front runner for East London’s most notorious gangster brothers, George and Gerry Faustus. He works hard to keep his growing relationship with Margaret separate from his criminal ties, but as the lines between his two worlds begin to blur, keeping them apart becomes impossible—and the consequences could be devastating.
With his future on the line, Finn fights for a place to belong, careening against the pull of a darker life that promises everything he once had. In a story of poverty, corruption, love, and grief, he must decide where home truly lies: in the arms of the girl he loves, or in the shadow of a past that refuses to let him go.
BRONWYN BRENNAN is a writer and hockey instructor based in Toronto, Ontario. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a degree in English Literature, she has published short fiction in student-led journals across Canada. Inspired by the life of her late grandfather, her debut novel, The Boy From Dublin, is a story of resilience, family, and eternal optimism following a teenage boy’s emigration to working-class London in the mid-1950s. When she's not writing, she can often be found at the rink, coaching the next generation of hockey players.