Ireland: Awakening

Ireland: Awakening by Edward Rutherford. unknown_binding edition. ISBN: 9780099476559.

Following the critically acclaimed success of "Dublin", this riveting sequel takes the story of Ireland from the seventeenth century onwards, picking up at the Reformation, and with it, the devastating arrival of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell heralds the inauguration of two hundred years of Protestant dominance, throughout which many of the Irish people were impoverished and dispossessed. Dublin is made a Protestant capital, and Catholics become an underclass. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Irish political history, this powerful saga is brought to its conclusion. Journeying through the centuries right the way up to the twentieth centurys Easter Rising and Independence, passing through turbulent milestones such as "The Year of the French", the "Famine" and "The Home Rule Movement of Parnell" along the way.