Edward Rutherfurd’s stirring account of Irish history, the Dublin Saga, concludes in this magisterial work of historical fiction. Beginning where the first volume, The Princes of Ireland, left off, The Rebels of Ireland takes us into a world transformed by the English practice of “plantation,” which represented the final step in the centuries-long British conquest of Ireland. Once again Rutherfurd takes us inside the process of history by tracing the lives of several Dublin families from all strata of society – Protestant and Catholic, rich and poor, conniving and heroic.

From the time of the plantations and Elizabeth’s ascendancy Rutherfurd moves into the grand moments of Irish history: the early-17th-century “Flight of the Earls,” when the last of the Irish aristocracy fled the island; Oliver Cromwell’s brutal oppression and confiscation of lands a half-century later; the romantic, doomed effort of “The Wild Geese” to throw off Protestant oppression at the Battle of the Boyne. The reader sees through the eyes of the victims and the perpetrators alike the painful realities of the anti-Catholic penal laws, the catastrophic famine and the massive migration to North America, the rise of the great nationalists O’Connell and the tragic Parnell, the glorious Irish cultural renaissance of Joyce and Yeats, and finally, the triumphant founding of the Irish Republic in 1922.

Written with all the drama and sweep that has made Rutherfurd the bestselling historical novelist of his generation, The Rebels of Ireland is both a necessary companion to The Princes of Ireland and a magnificent achievement in its own right.

Praise for the Bestselling Novels of EDWARD RUTHERFURD

The Princes of Ireland:
“A giant, sprawling, easy-to-read story told in James Michener fashion.” —Maeve Binchy

“A sweeping, carefully reconstructed portrait of a nation . . . Leaps through the centuries.” —New York Times

“Spellbinding . . . [A] page-turning Dublin saga . . . Rutherfurd does a magnificent job of packaging a crackling good yarn within the digestible overview of complex historical circumstances and events.” —Booklist


London:
“Remarkable . . . Grand.” —New York Times

“Hold your breath suspense, buccaneering adventure, and passionate tales of love and war.” —The Times (London)

“Fascinating . . . A sprawling epic.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A tour de force . . . Breathtaking.” —Orlando Sentinel


Sarum:
“Bursts with action, encyclopedic in historic detail . . . supremely well crafted and a delight to read.” —Chicago Tribune

“A richly imagined vision of history, written with genuine delight.” —San Francisco Chronicle


Russka:
“An example of how a skillful historical novelist can illumine the present by dramatically re-creating the past.” —Houston Chronicle

“Rutherfurd literally personifies history.” —New York Daily News


The Forest:
“As entertaining as Sarum and Rutherfurd’s other sweeping novel of British history, London.” —Boston Globe

“The Forest is Michener told with an English accent.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch


From the Hardcover edition.