Emma Hannigan Books In Order

Publication Order of Huntersbrook House Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Emma Hannigan was a reputed Irish author, TV presenter, and a blogger. She was best known for describing her experience of fighting with cancer in her novels. Hannigan has written several mind-blowing standalone books in her short-lived career. The most popular books written by her include The Summer Guest, Driving Home For Christmas, The Gifts of Friends, Perfect Wives, Keeping Mum, The Perfect Gift, etc. Hannigan was born as Emma Denise Hannigan on September 25, 1972. Her mother, Denise, was a home school teacher from Montessori, while her father, Philip, was a local engineering company’s manager. As a child, author Hannigan was brought up in Bray, County Wicklow. She studied at St. Gerard’s School along with her elder brother named Timmy. Hannigan enjoyed writing in school and didn’t like being asked to limit her words in her stories by her favorite teacher.

After the completion of her school studies, Hannigan joined County Cork’s Ballymaloe Cookery School for a 3-month course, but ended up staying for 3 years. Later, she started working as a chef. Hannigan also set up a catering business and ran it for some time before switching over to beauty therapy. The family of Hannigan had a history of ovarian and breast cancer. Her maternal aunt and mother tested positive for BRCA1, a gene responsible for the two forms of cancer. When she was asked to undergo a test in 2005 to find if she also had the hereditary gene, she also received a positive result. At that time, Hannigan was told that she had a 50% chance of developing ovarian cancer and an 85% chance of acquiring breast cancer at a later stage in life. So, she underwent surgery a year later to bring down the risk to 5%. However, she could not keep herself protected for long and developed breast cancer two years later in 2007. Her neck, underarm, and shoulder were the most affected by the disease.

Hannigan underwent multiple surgeries later, but the reappearance of the tumor always occurred after every surgery. Hannigan’s cancer reappeared for 9 more times altogether. In an interview given to the Irish Independent in 2016, Hannigan had told that the cancer lumps in her body were becoming bigger in size and the medicine was not working, making her sicker with each passing day. It was during the recovery period post the first surgery that she took to writing, while still in hospital care. Hannigan was a close friend of author Cathy Kelly. Whenever Cathy used to visit her in the hospital, Hannigan would quickly close her laptop as she was not confident about her writing. It was only later that she confessed to Cathy about her writing. She overcame her hesitation and emailed her work to Cathy for a review.

Cathy was very much impressed by her story and writing technique. She insisted to publish it and talked to a few agents. Soon after, Hannigan received a couple of offers and signed a three-book contract. Eventually, her debut book Designer Genes was published in 2009 in Ireland. Hannigan contributed a dozen more books that included memoirs and novels. In 2011, her novel, The Pink Ladies Club, was nominated for an award at the Irish Book Awards. A fortnight before her death, she announced that her cancer had turned terminal. Her colleagues and close friends organized a sales campaign for her last novel and all the profits were given to the Irish Cancer Society as charity. Hannigan’s death occurred on March 3, 2018. She is survived by her husband named Cian McGrath and kids, Sacha and Kim. She was paid a tribute by the Irish President Michael Higgins, who praised her leaving behind a lasting legacy.

The Huntersbrook House series written by author Emma Hannigan is comprised of a total of 2 books released between 2012 and 2014. It revolves around the lives of the members of the Craig family. Hannigan has mentioned the main characters in the two books in the form of Pippa, Lainey, and Joey. The debut book of the series is entitled ‘Driving Home For Christmas’. It was released by the Hachette Books Ireland in 2012. The book opens by showing that the Crags always their family tradition of coming together at their Hunstersbrook House on the eve of Christmas. No matter what part of the world they are, it is mandatory for them to arrive at their home and reunite. Because of the mounting debts and negligible income from their livery yard, the Craigs fear that they might be forced to sell their family home. So, the current year’s Christmas is much more important for them.

The grown-up children, Lainey, Joey, and Pippa, live in Dublin are busy with their own lives. They don’t have any idea about the problems faced at home. Joey tries to cope up with his fitness freak and controlling girlfriend and begins to question their relationship. Lainey cares for the family, but she is trying to deal with the recent engagement of her former boyfriend and her subsequent heartbreak. Lainey also looks out for Pippa as she feels that her frivolous style of living is going to catch up with her soon. As the three siblings gather for the Christmas season, they sit around the bonfire and think of doing some soul-searching. The family knows that they are not going to forget this Christmas and require each other’s support to get back on their feet again.

The second book of this series is entitled ‘The Heart of Winter’. It was published by Headline Review in 2014. Once again, the plot revolves around the lives of the Craig siblings, who start a new family business with the hope of overcoming all their financial worries. As winter arrives, they transform their beloved Huntersbrook House into a countryside venue and make it available for booking. The first booking is done by a popular film actress for her upcoming wedding. On the other hand, the Craigs are trying to overcome the rough patches in their lives. Joey becomes too much involved in the new family business and doesn’t give importance to the struggles of his fiance. Pippa doesn’t know where her life is headed as she lives recklessly. Lainey too faces a huge blow in an attempt to secure her future. And when the date of the wedding finally arrives, everyone hopes that the grand house will serve as a great venue. But, the siblings wonder if they can put aside their differences and work together to make their new venture a success.