The Rebels of Ireland

March 15, 2006
Well known for his sweeping historical novels ("London"), Rutherfurd has been called -Michener with a British accent. - His stories are packed with meticulous detail, flowing story lines, swashbuckling action, and believable characters deftly woven among those of historical record. Beginning with Elizabeth's ascendancy to the English throne and the -plantation - period of the English conquest of Ireland and ending with the founding of the Irish republic in 1922, this sequel to "Princes of Ireland" vividly tells the history of Irish suppression through the lives of ordinary people on both sides of the turmoil. It is a story of bitter and tragic contrast. Rutherfurd casts the Irish, thought to be savages by England's Protestant elite, against a backdrop of a vibrant, intellectual Dublin, deeply divided by religion and politics yet aglow with the literary renaissance of Yeats, Shaw, and Joyce. Highly readable, this latest retelling of the Irish quest for freedom is a worthy addition to the large body of popular Irish histories. Recommended for all fiction collections." -Susan Clifford Braun, Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA"

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2006
Rutherford concludes his stirring Dublin Saga with a sweeping follow-up to his widely praised and popular " The Princes of Ireland "(2004)" ."Taking up where he left off with the ill-fated Irish revolt of 1534, he conducts the reader on a whirlwind journey through the often-twisted annals of Irish history. After the British conquest of Ireland is complete and the installation of the "plantation" system tolls the death knell of Irish autonomy, the die is cast in a centuries-long political and spiritual quest for either independence or security. Told from the diverse viewpoints of several interrelated families, this epic recounting of the often tragic fate of one nation under two banners is transformed into an irresistible multigenerational chronicle featuring huge servings of romance, action, conflict, intrigue, and adventure. Ambitious in scope, teeming with a huge cast of finely drawn and realized characters, and dripping with authentic historical detail, this lengthy but eminently readable narrative will satisfy the appetites of discerning historical fiction aficionados. The previous volumes in the series have proven very popular, and the latest installment should follow suit.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)