The Northern Iron

Set on the northern Antrim coast and grounded in local topography and community life, the narrative interweaves descriptive passages of cliffs, strands, and manse rooms with a historical reconstruction of the 1798 rising. It follows the Presbyterian minister Micah Ward, his son Neal, and their neighbours as private habits, religious discipline, and personal loyalties are strained by political ferment; a real-life figure, James Hope, appears amid largely fictional characters. The book balances travel-like local color and family scenes with mounting tension, reflecting on memory, local identity, and the collision of domestic routines with public upheaval.