The Good People by Hannah Kent is a remarkable but deeply distressing novel set in 1820s rural Ireland.
I think there’s a lot of truth in the notion that those who suffer the most need to believe the most. Belief in a higher power can be not only a comfort but also the driving force that enables us to muddle through in the face of interminable hardship. But what if instead of helping us, instead of guiding us towards salvation, this belief instead drives us further and further into a hell of our own making, where we can no longer tell what’s real from what’s purely a figment of our collective imagination? Hannah Kent captures all of this in The Good People, a novel set in 1820s rural Ireland and steeped in superstition and the small cruelties that can grow in isolated communities.
What is The Good People about?
Set in County Kerry in 1825, the story follows NĂłra, a grieving widow whose adult daughter has died suddenly, leaving NĂłra to care for her four-year-old grandson Micheál. The boy can’t speak or walk. But NĂłra is convinced that he was once different, once whole. The locals whisper about changelings and “the Good People”, the faery folk. There are murmurs that the “real Micheál” has been taken. So, desperate to take back control, NĂłra sets out to “put the fairy out” and get her real grandson back, all with the help of an old healer called Nance.
A slow-burn tale of dread and devotion
Like Burial Rites, Kent’s acclaimed debut, The Good People is inspired by a true story. Kent blends fact with folklore so smoothly you can’t see the seams. The result is a deeply unsettling read that creeps under your skin. Kent doesn’t rely on gore or drama. Her horror lies in atmosphere, in the tension between science and superstition, reason and ritual. Her prose is lyrical but controlled, with flashes of beauty in the bleakest of scenes. The landscape is a living force, both breathtaking and brutal. There’s something haunting about rural Ireland. The way the mist clings to the hills. The hush between trees. The deep-rooted belief that not everything can be explained.
Women, witches and the weight of belief
At its heart, The Good People is about the power and danger of belief. About what happens when people are desperate to make sense of suffering. The women in this book are poor, ageing and at the mercy of men who dismiss their fears. In turning to folk cures and ancient rites, they find a sense of control. A kind of faith. But it comes at a cost. Kent writes with empathy for her characters, even when their actions are hard to stomach. NĂłra is not particularly likeable, but she is believable. Her grief is raw. Her choices feel inevitable.
For fans of dark historical fiction and books set in Ireland
If you enjoy historical fiction with a gothic edge, The Good People won’t disappoint. It is ideal for readers drawn to books set in Ireland, especially those that explore the blurred lines between myth and reality. If you haven’t read Kent’s other novels yet, I can also recommend Burial Rites, set in Iceland, and Devotion, a love story set on the brutal journey to Australia in the 1800s. Both are stunning in different ways. But The Good People might be her most unsettling novel yet.
🌿 Find more books set in Ireland.
Read my other book recommendations set in various countries around the world.