The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga
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Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Editorial Reviews:
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From the internationally bestselling author of London and Sarum -- a magnificent epic about love and war, family life and political intrigue in Ireland over the course of seventeen centuries. Like the novels of James Michener, The Princes of Ireland brilliantly interweaves engrossing fiction and well-researched fact to capture the essence of a place.
Edward Rutherfurd has introduced millions of readers to the human dramas that are the lifeblood of history. From his first bestseller, Sarum, to the #1 bestseller London, he has captivated audiences with gripping narratives that follow the fortunes of several fictional families down through the ages. The Princes of Ireland, a sweeping panorama steeped in the tragedy and glory that is Ireland, epitomizes the power and richness of Rutherfurd’s storytelling magic.
The saga begins in pre-Christian Ireland with a clever refashioning of the legend of Cuchulainn, and culminates in the dramatic founding of the Free Irish State in 1922. Through the interlocking stories of a wonderfully imagined cast of characters -- monks and noblemen, soldiers and rebels, craftswomen and writers -- Rutherfurd vividly conveys the personal passions and shared dreams that shaped the character of the country. He takes readers inside all the major events in Irish history: the reign of the fierce and mighty kings of Tara; the mission of Saint Patrick; the Viking invasion and the founding of Dublin; the trickery of Henry II, which gave England its foothold on the island in 1167; the plantations of the Tudors and the savagery of Cromwell; the flight of the “Wild Geese”; the failed rebellion of 1798; the Great Famine and the Easter Rebellion. With Rutherfurd’s well-crafted storytelling, readers witness the rise of the Fenians in the late nineteenth century, the splendours of the Irish cultural renaissance, and the bloody battles for Irish independence, as though experiencing their momentous impact firsthand.
Tens of millions of North Americans claim Irish descent. Generations of people have been enchanted by Irish literature, and visitors flock to Dublin and its environs year after year. The Princes of Ireland will appeal to all of them -- and to anyone who relishes epic entertainment spun by a master.
From the Hardcover edition.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Pretty solid historical fiction about a great country
Comment: Famous for his sweeping historical epics (Sarum, London, The Forest, et al) that aim to tell the history of a land or people via a fictional narrative, Rutherfurd delivers here the first of his two-volume chronicle of the land named for the ancient Celtic goddess Eriu - Ireland, the Emerald Isle.
It begins in 430 A.D. with the fictional, ill-fated love story of Dierdre and Conall, in the time of the Druids just before the dawn of christianity. Given what little and conflicting information historians have about the Druids, ancient Celts and this period in history, what Rutherfurd does put together is a lovely mystical snapshot of ancient Ireland, the sacred land of Tara and its people. It may be the best part of the book, actually.
On to the story of St. Patrick and the coming of the Vikings, the legend of King Brian Boru, and of course the inevitable domination by the English, who would waste no time trying to stamp out everything that was Irish - language, music and even clothing. Same treatment they delivered to the Scots. I'm sure the Irish didn't anticipate that in the beginning, but it soon proved to be the case when Rome and England became blood brothers in politics and religion. No one could fight that two-headed monster. It's a moot point now, I suppose, but I wonder how many lives were destroyed as the Irish were forced to help the English fight their battles, from the Wars of the Roses to Henry VIII's split with the church and on down the line. I suppose I'm making my Irish roots obvious here, and it has to be admitted the Irish were often too busy fighting amongst themselves to pose the united front that would have had any chance against the English machine. I'm actually quite the Anglophile for the most part, but I do think it's tragic that Ireland missed a golden opportunity to join with the Scots in the 14th century in rising up against the English, as they did do from time to time but never on a large-scale, definitive basis. It probably would have been for naught in the end, but who knows? One does wonder how things MIGHT have turned out. Of course it's all in the past and Ireland is a wonderful place just as she is, and at this late date the English element is as inseparable from the land and culture of Ireland as the Vikings.
I'm making it sound like this book is all about fighting and it's not, although war both civil and foreign is an unavoidable part of Irish history. At any rate, Rutherfurd uses portraits of both historical and fictional characters, loosely tied together in the same families and using some of the famous names to come down through history - O'Neills, O'Byrnes, O'Briens, Fitzgeralds, Doyles, et al - to move the narrative through the centuries. It was interesting and held my attention throughout, no mean feat given the 800-page length, but I have to admit that I was not quite as impressed by Rutherfurd's writing as I thought I'd be. I've read numerous praising reviews of his books, so I was expecting to be wowed. I guess my expectations were too high because although I drank in the historical facts, names and explanations of the rather unique political and social structure, the actual storytelling aspect fell a little short. It did not come off with the skill of, say, a Margaret George. It seemed a little stilted and awkward, very unlike what one would expect of such a respected and seasoned writer. I think it would have been a better book altogether had he just written it as a straight historical text. Still, it couldn't have been bad because as mentioned it did hold my attention all the way through, and I plan to start the second volume, The Rebels of Ireland, after the new year.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Slow at first..
Comment: This book was my first venture into Edward Rutherfurd's works. When I began reading it, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get through it. There was a lot of describing the scenery of the area of Dublin, before the story begins, which I find boring (thus the 3 stars) and almost put me off of the book. I just need a vague idea, and I'm set to go. This persists throughout the book, but once I got into the story, I didn't notice it as much.
Once the story begins, it gets much better. Rutherfurd helps the reader track who comes from what family by having certain traits passed down through the generations, such as the green eyes of the Ui Fergusa, though having that eye squint of the MacGowan's passed down seems a bit weird.
If anyone comes to this novel fairly ignorant of Ireland's history, as I was, it does a wonderful job of describing the historical events and doesn't leave the reader confused as to what was happening or why it was, or may have been, happening. If something about an event is not clear, such as who started it, why it started, etc., it's usually stated in some way.
Overall, this book is well written. Rutherford keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen to the families with the situations that he puts them in. His story includes tales of love (though this isn't a major plot line), intrigue, family relationships, and of course, history.
Customer Rating:
Summary: somewhat disjointed
Comment: This is on 8 cd's and Mr. Keating makes the story. With his wonderful Irish accent adding the authentic touch that kept me listening when i might have given up after the ist generation of Irish ancestory were killed off. Then it jumps up to a new group of ancestors of the original group, and so on and so on. At the end we are in the 15 and 1600's, So you know there is more to come. After 9 hours and 8 discs I was glad that I listened rather than try to read through to the point where he stops. I recommend the audio just to listen to an Irishman read the story. It totally enhances the experience.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Irish book, good
Comment: I have just started reading this book & had waited quite a while before I finally found this version, so was happy to get it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Princes of Ireland
Comment: This novel was better than The Rebels of Ireland. It is rich with the history of Ireland. However, some of the charaterters were repetitious.
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