Ireland flag Historical fiction books from Ireland

Recommended historical fiction books (22)
Travel the world without leaving your chair. If you are into historical fiction here are some historical fiction books from Ireland for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge.


2.

Airman by Eoin Colfer EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Conor Broekhart was born to fly. Or more accurately, he was born flying. Little wonder he became what he became. In an age of discovery and invention, many dreamed of flying, but for Conor flight was more than just a dream, it was his destiny. In one dark night on the island of Great Saltee, a cruel and cunning betrayal destroyed his life and stole his future. Now Conor must win the race for flight, to save his family and right a terrible wrong...

3.

All the Broken Places by John Boyne EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
From the author of the globally bestselling, multi-million-copy classic, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, comes its astonishing and powerful sequel. 'When is a monster's child culpable? Guilt and complicity are multifaceted. John Boyne is a maestro of historical fiction. You can't prepare yourself for the magnitude and emotional impact of this powerful novel' John Irving 'An incredible feat of storytelling. All the Broken Places is a stark confrontation of evil, an examination of guilt and deflection, and an old-fashioned page-turner. John treads the finest of narrative lines with skill and gra... continue

4.

Atlas: the Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley, Harry Whittaker EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
The final novel in the Seven Sisters series is here. Spanning a lifetime of love and loss, crossing borders and oceans, Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt, co-authored by her son Harry Whittaker, draws Lucinda Riley's saga to its stunning, unforgettable conclusion. 1928, Paris. A boy is found, moments from death, and taken in by a kindly family. Gentle, precocious, talented, he flourishes in his new home, and the family show him a life he hadn’t dreamed possible. But he refuses to speak a word about who he really is. As he grows into a young man, falling in love and taking classes at... continue

5.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
In a small town in the south-east of Ireland in the 1950s, Eilis Lacey is among many of her generation who cannot find work at home. So when she is offered a job in America, she leaves her family to start a new life in Brooklyn, New York.

6.

Glorious Exploits : A Novel by Ferdia Lennon EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Part Waiting for Godot, part O Brother, Where Art Thou, and completely original, Glorious Exploits is a celebration of the things that bind humanity across battle lines and history, and an ode to the redemptive power of storytelling. Set in Syracuse, Sicily, during the Peloponnesian War but told in contemporary Irish dialect, Glorious Exploits follows Lampo and Gelon, best friends since childhood. Thrilled to have survived the Athenians’ recent invasion and as shocked by the Syracusan victory as everyone else, these unemployed potters are in a mood to celebrate. Of course, they hate the Atheni... continue

7.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell EN

Rating: 4 (6 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of The Marriage Portrait delivers a luminous portrait of a marriage, a family ravaged by grief, and a boy whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays of all time. • “Of all the stories that argue and speculate about Shakespeare’s life ... here is a novel ... so gorgeously written that it transports you." —The Boston Globe England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, bu... continue

8.

Juno Loves Legs : A Novel by Karl Geary EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
For fans of Shuggie Bain and A Little Life, Juno Loves Legs is the epic and heartbreaking story of a young friendship set in working-class Dublin in the 1980s Juno Loves Legs is the story of two teens labeled as delinquents. Juno and "Legs" grow up on the same housing estate in Dublin, where spirited, intelligent Juno is ostracized for her poverty and Legs is persecuted for his sexuality; they find safety only in each other. Set against the backdrop of Dublin in the 1980s, a place of political, social and religious change, the friends yearn for an unbound life and together they begin to fight ... continue

9.

Lies of Silence by Brian Moore EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
When the IRA orders Dillon to park his car at a Belfast hotel, he knows he's planting a bomb that will kill and maim dozens. He also knows his wife will be killed if he disobeys.The choice is complicated by the fact that the action takes place on the day Dillon plans to tell his wife he is leaving her to go to London to live with his girlfriend, Andrea, a researcher with the BBC. His decision has far reaching implications that play themselves out over the course of the novel, culminating in a horrific ending.

10.

Nora : A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce by Nuala O'Connor EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Acclaimed Irish novelist Nuala O'Connor's bold reimagining of the life of James Joyce's wife, muse, and the model for Molly Bloom in Ulysses is a "lively and loving paean to the indomitable Nora Barnacle" (Edna O'Brien). Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway who left school at twelve, is a chambermaid at Finn's Hotel, and has all but given up on a happy ending. But on June 16--Bloomsday--her life is changed when she meets James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows him in pursuit of a life beyond ... continue