In this subtle, moving, at times angry book, Liz McManus has mined the history of her family and uncovered a seam of pure gold. A marvellous imaginative achievement. - John Banville

A rare and beautifully described insight into the lives of those fascinating and forgotten people, the radical UIster dissenters who loved Ireland and who believed passionately in the old French revolutionary ideals of independence of thought, universal brotherhood, liberty, equality and fraternity. - Andy Pollak

When Things Come to Light is an intricate tapestry of stories. It is a beautifully written family history, explored against the background of the emerging Irish State. It is also a story of Empire, of identity and belonging. Above all, it is a tender love story between the independent, free-thinking Margaret and her husband, Wallace, as they try to shape their lives around the suffocations and religious intolerance of the new Ireland - Catherine Dunne

 In a generous act of reclamation, Liz McManus recreates the forgotten lives and world of her grandparents with great skill and compassionate insight. In doing so, she gives us a compelling, vivid rendition of the lives of early twentieth century Dissenters and an Irish family in India. When Things Come to Light casts a critical light on the early days of the Irish Free State from the much over-looked perspective of Protestant nationalists, while simultaneously critiquing Irish participation in the business of Empire. A valuable exploration of the tensions of the time, this novel will stay with you because of the strength of its characters. - Lia Mills