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Loading... 1949: A Novel of the Irish Free Stateby Morgan Llywelyn
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Llywelyn takes her historical fiction of "The Irish Century" through the depression and WWII in the third volume. As with the earlier installments, Llywelyn's balance between historical detail and just plain story-telling is near pitch-perfect. The most intriguing character from the second installment (1921), Ursula Halloran, is central to the '1949' story, as she struggles with the conflict between her un-stinting support of the revolution and her desire to see newly won freedoms equally available to women as well and men. Book about a cathloic female who chooses to stay single in Ireland. She has romances but nothing towards marriage except one man. Alas..he is a Brit. Wonderful historical knowledge of Ire's pleas for freedom. Deval and Collins are truthfully portraited.Details how the IRA has gone from a good thng to a radical group. Demonstrates how Ire should have had all 8 Norhtern parts. no reviews | add a review
Morgan Llywelyn's masterly epic,The Irish Century, continues in1949, a sequel to1916and1921. The struggle of the Irish people for independence is one of the compelling historical dramas of the twentieth century.1949 tells the story of Ursula Halloran, a fiercely independent young woman who comes of age in the 1920s. The tragedy of Irish civil war gives way in the 1920s to a repressive Catholic state led by Eamon De Valera. Married women cannot hold jobs, divorce is illegal, and the IRA has become a band of outlaws still devoted to and fighting for a Republic that never lived. The Great Depression stalks the world, and war is always on the horizon, whether in Northern Ireland, Spain, or elsewhere on theEuropean continent. Ursula works for the fledgling Irish radio service and then for the League of Nations, while her personal life is torn between two men: an Irish civil servant and an English pilot. Defying Church and State, Ursula bears a child out of wedlock, though she must leave the country to do so, and nearly loses her life in the opening days of World War II. Eventually she returns to an Ireland that is steadfastly determined to remain neutral during the war. 1949is the story of one strong woman who lives through the progress of Ireland from a broken land to the beginnings of a modern independent state. The Irish Century Novels 1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion 1921: The Great Novel of the Irish Civil War 1949: A Novel of the Irish Free State 1972: A Novel of Ireland's Unfinished Revolution 1999: A Novel of the Celtic Tiger and the Search for Peace No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Like the first two novels in this series, 1916 and 1921, 1949 tells the history of Ireland as it struggles for freedom and a chance to join the rest of the nations on the world stage. Llywelyn deftly weaves fiction and history, setting characters of her own making right in amongst the real men and women who fought, and died, for something worth dying for. What I truly love about these books is the passion with which they are written. Llywelyn is clearly an expert on the history of modern Ireland, all of her books include comprenshive lists of all those who play a role in this story, fictional and historical, even if their name is only mentioned in passing. At the end of the book are a complete set of source notes and bibliography and whenever necessary, especially for Gaelic language words or phrases there are footnotes with a translaton or explination. The books are detailed and historically accurate, but as works of fiction she is able to tell the story through the eyes of someone who was there. These books are a great introduction to the troubles that have plagued Ireland over the past century or more. They do have a very strong pro-Fenian bent, but that notwithstanding they are an excellent way to educate oneself on a war that is still being fought in a deeply ravaged Ireland. ( )