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A review by danilanglie
The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga by Edward Rutherfurd
4.0
I didn't enjoy this one as much as some of Rutherfurd's other novels. I think Ireland is an interesting and beautiful place, and I liked spending time there. But I didn't sink into the atmosphere of this book as much as I did some of the others. When I was reading about Paris or New York or London or even Russia, I really felt a sense of place, the intimate details of what the city or countryside looked and felt like. I did not really get that same sense here.
I also got lost in the weeds with the changing last names and different family connections. So when I was reading a later chapter, I had to go back and look at the chart to remember who the ancestors were. I didn't get the same sense of family traits or traditions being passed down through the generations.
All that said, I still really enjoyed the experience of reading this novel. It was fun to learn a bit about the way Ireland is shaped by different people coming in at different points - the fusion of the Norse and the older natives, then the slow blending of the English, Welsh, etc... until there are the English who have been there so long they are essentially Irish, and the English who are really there as representatives of a foreign and oppressive power. I'm going to bet that we learn a lot more about this in the other book of this duo.
I think maybe my favorite through-line was the enmity, one-sided, between Margaret Walsh and Joan Doyle. It was so interesting to track all of the reasons why Margaret was resentful, and all of the ways Joan kept inadvertently reaffirming Margaret's opinion of her. I also really liked the religious commentary, the way that at various stages the level of control from the Pope and from Henry VIII shifted, and how Irish Catholic tradition still forged its own path, distinct from the church anywhere else.
I'm glad I read this book, and I will keep going on my quest to read all of Rutherfurd's work! He is a master of historical fiction.
I also got lost in the weeds with the changing last names and different family connections. So when I was reading a later chapter, I had to go back and look at the chart to remember who the ancestors were. I didn't get the same sense of family traits or traditions being passed down through the generations.
All that said, I still really enjoyed the experience of reading this novel. It was fun to learn a bit about the way Ireland is shaped by different people coming in at different points - the fusion of the Norse and the older natives, then the slow blending of the English, Welsh, etc... until there are the English who have been there so long they are essentially Irish, and the English who are really there as representatives of a foreign and oppressive power. I'm going to bet that we learn a lot more about this in the other book of this duo.
I think maybe my favorite through-line was the enmity, one-sided, between Margaret Walsh and Joan Doyle. It was so interesting to track all of the reasons why Margaret was resentful, and all of the ways Joan kept inadvertently reaffirming Margaret's opinion of her. I also really liked the religious commentary, the way that at various stages the level of control from the Pope and from Henry VIII shifted, and how Irish Catholic tradition still forged its own path, distinct from the church anywhere else.
I'm glad I read this book, and I will keep going on my quest to read all of Rutherfurd's work! He is a master of historical fiction.