Tipperary - Hardcover

"With this follow-up to his acclaimed Ireland , Delaney has crafted another meticulously researched journey though his homeland. The focus this time is on Castle Tipperary, one of the "grand houses" of the Anglo-Irish. Its story is told through the love of Charles O'Brien, an itinerant healer, for April Burke, the only child of a noble Irish family. While trying to woo her, Charles convinces April to petition for ownership of the castle as her birthright. It languishes in disrepair, a victim of the tenant evictions, the famine, and general abandonment. April rejects Charles and marries a lout who restores the castle but leaves April's life in ruin. Charles comes to her rescue, but the ill-fated Easter Rising intervenes, and both the great house and their love are riven once again. The struggles of Delaney's characters for survival mirror the history of Ireland during the colonial years from 1860 to 1922. It's a tale told many times, yet Delaney's careful scholarship and compelling storytelling bring it uniquely alive. Highly recommended for all fiction collections._BOOK JACKET.