| The Irish Country Novels | |
| Author: | Patrick Taylor |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Historical fiction |
| Publisher: | Forge Books |
| Pub Date: | February 6, 2007 – Present |
| Media Type: | Print (hardcover and paperback), Audiobook |
The Irish Country Novels are an ongoing series of historical fiction books written by Patrick Taylor and published by Forge Books.[1] The first book in the series, An Irish Country Doctor, was originally published as The Apprenticeship of Doctor Laverty by Insomniac Press in 2004 and was short listed for the BC Book awards fiction prize 2005.
An Irish Country Doctor became a New York Times bestseller upon its republication in 2007[2] and was named Book of the Month Club's Novel of the Month in March 2007. It has been translated into thirteen other languages.
Several sequels in the series have also become international bestsellers,[3] [4] particularly in Canada, where Taylor has resided since 1970.[5] When An Irish Country Christmas appeared in mass market paperback in 2010 it reached No 17 on the New York Times and 86 on the USA Today bestseller lists.
Set in Ballybucklebo, a fictional village in rural Northern Ireland, the series follows novice doctor Barry Laverty as he begins his assistantship at the practice of Dr. Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly. The sixth and eighth books of the series, A Dublin Student Doctor and Fingal O'Reilly, Irish Doctor, explore the life of Dr. O'Reilly prior to the events of An Irish Country Doctor.