Title: The Princes of Ireland        

Author: Edward Rutherfurd     

Genre: Historical Fiction     

Publisher: Ballantine Books     

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 778

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Brilliantly weaving impeccable historical research with stirring storytelling, Edward Rutherfurd explores our shared Celtic roots in a magnificent epic of Ireland spanning eleven centuries. While vividly conveying the passions and struggles that shaped particularly the character of Dublin, Rutherfurd portrays the major events in Irish history: the tribal culture of pagan Ireland; the mission of Saint Patrick; the coming of the Vikings; the making of treasures like the Book of Kells; and the tricks of Henry II, which gave England its first foothold in medieval Ireland. Through the interlocking stories of a memorable cast of characters–druids and chieftains, monks and smugglers, noblewomen and farmwives, laborers and orphans, rebels and cowards–Rutherfurd captures the essence of a place and its people in a thrilling story steeped in the tragedy and glory that are Ireland.

Review:

It was so great to be back to reading another Rutherfurd book! His ability to capture the time period, create and develop characters that stick with you as a ready, and suck you in, only to then move on to another period in time, another set of characters is really amazing! –

Like his other novels, this book spans hundreds of years and follows a few specific families (created but the author, not real families) and takes place in Ireland. The book starts in about the 400s CE and ends in the 1500s. I really loved how the author described each point in time, and described the changes to society with each transition, and set up the next stage of the story well! The characters were great, and I feel like I learned a lot about Irish history by reading! I really enjoyed reading the first story about Celtic tribes, and Druids! Really interesting! There’s another book in this series that apparently picks up where this one ends, so I’m going to have to read it soon!

Happy reading!