For the last few months I’ve been cramming on Ireland books in preparation for my recent visit there. And now that my trip has come and gone, I expect that although I’m sure to continue reading about Ireland, I will likely change subjects for a while. The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd was a good place to end my run of Ireland-themed reading. I had read much of Irish history to this point, but this piece of historical fiction tied centuries worth if Irish history together through the intertwined lives of several fictional families.
This is actually the second of a two-book series called The Dublin Saga and was preceded by The Princes of Ireland which I have yet to read. The Rebels of Ireland begins in 1597 and spans through the 1916 Easter Uprising and does a great job providing a glimpse at how the major events of Irish history during that timespan might have been experienced by families and individuals. For a hefty 850+ pages in this book, I found they turned very easily. I’ll look forward to backtracking and reading The Princes of Ireland, but maybe after just a brief break to mix up the reading list with some other subject matter for a bit.