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HUGH LEONARD Parnell and Englishwoman
ANDRE DEUTSCH LTD 0233986480 / 9780233986487 Hardcover Good
0233986480 From Publishers Weekly nThis first novel by the acclaimed author of the memoirs Home Before Night and Out After Dark and the Tony Award-winning play Da , is based on the true story of Charles Stewart Parnell, who led the struggle for Irish Home Rule during the Victorian reign, and his romance with an Englishwoman, Kitty O'Shea. Leonard succeeds entirely in skirting the worst pitfalls of historical novels: wooden dialogue from the mouths of cardboard characters, hamstrung plot, you-are-there breathlessness. The book, which sparkles with Irish wit, offers a perceptive exploration of characters and a plot no less gripping for its twists and turns. The writing is elegant from the first sentence, which beckons in a way worthy of Edith Wharton: Eight guests had been invited; seven had come. While at the core Parnell remains something of an enigma--ultimately, it could be said that he was one to wrest defeat from the jaws of victory--Leonard has succeeded in making him more real than any historical text ever could. Altogether, the book is both an illuminating portrait of a fascinating, key figure in Irish history and a first-rate read. nCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf?gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels. n nFrom Library Journal nCharles Stewart Parnell, Protestant, Irish patriot, and leader of the Home Rule Movement during the 1880s, had grown up with an almost fanatical hatred of the English; yet he based his struggle for Irish independence on a platform of nonviolence. Unlike his immediate predecessors, he was able to unite the Irish people and give them a voice which could not be ignored. All this is ably demonstrated in Leonard's novel of an aloof, often cold man whose career is ironically undone because of his love for Katherine O'Shea, the English wife of an Irish M . P. For years they kept their affair secret, but when the truth became public Parnell's leadership was at an end. Leonard, Tony award-winning author of Da, has blended well the complexities of the political scene with a tender and tragic romance. Recommended. n- Patricia Altner, Dept. of Defense Lib., Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D . C. nCopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf?gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels. n nAlle Produktbeschreibungen
Price:
6.96 EUR
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