Alive and Kicking (1958) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

They learned they were going to be split up and sent to different cities. Not wanting to be separated, Mrs Wilmot (Dora), Miss Baker (Rosie), and Miss Fife (Mabel) chose to flee together rather than face life in different institutions.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the story, the women express weariness with their dull routine in the nursing home.

• escape
• sunset home
• split up
• nursing home
• three women

After escaping on a motorboat, they accidentally started the engine and drifted out to sea with limited fuel. They were rescued by a Russian freighter whose crew didn't speak English. The women insisted on being dropped ashore rather than being taken to Murmansk, and the freighter eventually landed them on the small Irish island of Inishfada.

Foreshadowing: The women expressed hope of finding adventure and renewal on their escape.

• russian freighter
• inishfada
• island
• sea rescue
• drift

No, MacDonagh did not die. He had a heart condition but survived the fall. He was actually stranded on another uninhabited island near Inishfada. He was eventually found and brought back just as the solicitor arrived to investigate the women's ruse.

Foreshadowing: MacDonagh casually mentions his heart condition shortly before the incident, hinting at his fragile health.

• macdonagh
• heart condition
• cliff
• alive
• stranded island

When MacDonagh fell from the cliff and appeared to die, the women realized they had no legal right to stay on the island since he was the owner of the cottages. To avoid being sent back to the system or expelled from Inishfada, they quickly decided to pose as his nieces, hoping this would allow them to remain on the island.

Foreshadowing: The women had just expressed disappointment that MacDonagh had purchased the cottages they wanted to inhabit.

• nieces
• pretend
• macdonagh
• cottages
• stay island

MacDonagh had previously told a boastful joke to local children, leading the islanders to believe he was married to all three women simultaneously. When they arrived claiming to be his nieces, the islanders felt the women were immoral interlopers and formed an angry mob to drive them away.

Foreshadowing: The story notes MacDonagh was known for boasts and jokes with the local children.

• mob
• marriage
• misunderstanding
• islanders
• angry

At the party, Dora noticed a finely knitted sweater worn by a passerby. She bought a similar one the next day and sent it to her cousin who ran a dress shop in London. The cousin immediately placed an order for 300 more sweaters at £5 each. Dora then organized local women to produce the sweaters, paying them £4 10s each while keeping 10s for herself and her friends.

Foreshadowing: The party brought the women together with the local community, allowing Dora to observe the local knitting work.

• sweater
• business
• order
• london
• knitting
• dora

MacDonagh was actually a native of Inishfada who had returned to the island after many years away. He had bought the cottages for his retirement and wanted to help his people. When he returned and learned of the women's ruse, he was pleased that their presence had already benefited his community through the sweater business.

Foreshadowing: MacDonagh mentions buying the cottages for retirement shortly after arriving on the island.

• macdonagh
• native
• return
• help people
• island

Dora kept 10 shillings per sweater as her share and her friends' share for organizing the operation, coordinating between the London cousin and the local women, and taking the financial risk. The arrangement was meant to be temporary while they established themselves, and it represented their transition from fugitives to businesswomen with a stake in the island's future.

Foreshadowing: The women had no source of income or legal status on the island before the business began.

• profits
• dora
• payment
• workers
• business