Product Description

In 1798, Irish patriots, committed to freeing their country from England, landed with a company of French troops in County Mayo, in westernmost Ireland. They were supposed to be an advance guard, followed by other French ships with the leader of the rebellion, Wolfe Tone. Briefly they triumphed, raising hopes among the impoverished local peasantry and gathering a group of supporters. But before long the insurgency collapsed in the face of a brutal English counterattack. Very few books succeed in registering the sudden terrible impact of historical events; Thomas Flanagan's is one. Subtly conceived, masterfully paced, with a wide and memorable cast of characters, The Year of the French brings to life peasants and landlords, Protestants and Catholics, along with old and abiding questions of secular and religious commitments, empire, occupation, and rebellion. It is quite simply a great historical novel.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #257976 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Gerry McCarthy, Irish Sunday Times
'ambition plus technical skill can result in a kind of genius'

About the Author
Thomas Flanagan (1923-2002) was a novelist, scholar, and critic. He was the author of The Irish Novelists, 1800–1850 (1959) and the novels The Year of the French (1979), The Tenants of Time (1988), and The End of the Hunt (1994).