Date of Award
Spring 5-2018
Degree Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Professional Writing (MAPW)
Department
English
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. William Rice
Co-Chair
Anne Corbitt
Abstract
This creative thesis consists of the first seven chapters of the novel, Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Darker. Set in two time periods, 2017 and 1849, the plot centers around a newly renovated castle hotel in County Cork, Ireland. Newlyweds, Alicia and Greg Silvan discover a bottle of absinthe that is Spanish in origin. Alicia is haunted by the ghost of former owner, Keira O’Shea, as well as the disappearance of her father in hurricane Katrina. Alicia finds Keira’s handwritten journal and begins to read about Keira’s life and love and loss at the end of the Great Irish Famine. The two women both struggle with their husbands, having made a fatal flaw in judgement. All the while, the absinthe flows, creating darkness in the hearts of those who imbibe.