Kent's attention was drawn to this story as Roche was acquitted by the jury, and after writing Burial Rites, she began to research the case more thoroughly, along with Irish folklore and Ireland itself.

[3] Set in 1825, in County Kerry, Ireland, The Good People follows the story of Nóra Leahy, a woman stricken by grief after the death of her daughter and husband, and having to look after her disabled grandson Micheál.

The local women begin to suspect that he is a changeling, a child taken by the fairies known commonly as the Good People – euhemerised versions of the deities of ancient Ireland, the Tuatha Dé Danann.

The Good People might be Wuthering Heights gothic without the psychological speed, a novel in black and grey, but for those who enjoy slow-burning melodrama and their history re-enacted in hi-res minutiae, this will please.

[7] Allan added that it is Kent's "power[ful] ... writing" that brings Nance, Nóra and Mary to life "in a way that feels true for the time, and yet that also has weight and resonance for a modern audience.