Lilies In December is the sole novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 and debut work of 19th Century Literature

19th century in literature

See also: 19th century in poetry, 18th century in literature, other events of the 19th century, 20th century in literature, list of years in literature....

 author and playwright Agustus Montrose

Agustus Montrose

Agustus Horatio Montrose was an English novelist and playwright operating in the northeast of London in the mid to late 19th century. He is especially notable for one novel and several plays, although he wrote 22 known pieces and there is a possibility that more were created unknown to the...

. He was inspired by travels to Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 during the Great Famine

Great Famine

Great Famine may refer to any of several historical famines:* The Great Famine of 1315–1317 in northern Europe* The Great India Famine of 1344-1345...

. It is widely recognized as one of the best psychological realism novels of the era. It has been praised for its character depth and plot. Published in 1856, it is considered Montrose's greatest work. It is especially popular today in Europe, specifically in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. It has been deemed as one of the most influential works of the 19th century. It was developed for stage in 1884 by Montrose.

Plot

The setting of Lilies In December is the recovering western Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 village of Glen Arnen after the Potato Famine of the 1840s and early 1850s. Two young women, both named Lily have lost much of their family to the potato famine. One, Lily O'Malley has lost her mother and two brothers and is forced to survive in the hands of her abusive, drunkard

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 father James O'Malley. The other, Lily McIntyre lost both parents and lives with her kind aunt Jane McIntyre who works under James O'Malley at the only inn in the village. The two Lilies find comfort in each others' company and become best friends. Throughout the story they meet many sexual

Human sexuality

Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...

 encounters with young men from the village. Midway through the book, one such encounter leads to the pregnancy of Lily O'Malley and murder of the future father. In his rage, James also murders Jane McIntyre which results in Lily McIntyre's resentment of the O'Malleys. In her retaliation against them, she burns down their inn and kills several innocent people in the process. This leads to the estrangement of the two Lilies even more so and Lily O'Malley even attempts to stab McIntyre. James O'Malley's crimes are found out and he is sent to the gallows

Hanging

Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...

. Now, both in complete misery and all alone, the two Lilies decide to forget the past and reunite as friends in December 1854. Right as they begin to become extremely close, Lily McIntyre dies of hypothermia

Hypothermia

Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...

and Lily O'Malley, with nothing left to live for, commits suicide.