The masterly epic 'The Irish Century' continues in this wonderful novel, a sequel to '1916' and '1921'. The struggle of the Irish people for independence is one of the compelling historical dramas of the twentieth century. Morgan Llywelyn has chosen it as a subject of her major work, a meticulously researched, multi-novel chronicle that began with '1916', continued with '1921', and is brought up to the mid-century in this novel.

Her new novel tells the story of Ursula Halloran, a fiercely independent young woman who comes of age in the 1920s. She experiences the tumult of the times in a way that brings those days vividly alive. The tragedy of the Irish civil war gives way in the 1920s to a repressive Catholic state led by Eamon de Valera. Married women cannot hold jobs, divorce is illegal, and the IRA has become a band of outlaws still devoted to and fighting for a Republic that never lived. The Great Depression stalks the world, and war is always on the horizon, whether in Northern Ireland, Spain, or elsewhere on the European continent.

Ursula, the adopted daughter of a revolutionary, Ned Halloran, remains an idealist believing in Ireland. She works for the fledgling Irish radio service and then for the League of Nations, while her personal life is torn between two men: an Irish civil servant and an English pilot. One is too much a gentleman, and the other too much a scoundrel.

Defying Church and State, Ursula bears a child out of wedlock, though she must leave the country to do so, and nearly loses her life in the opening days of World War II. Eventually she returns to an Ireland that is steadfastly determined to remain neutral during the war, an Ireland shaken by the great deal between de Valera and Winston Churchill. As always with Ireland, politics and passion go hand in hand.

This novel is a story of one strong woman who lives through the progress of Ireland from a broken land to the beginnings of a modern independent state.

1921 by Morgan Llywelyn

Paperback; 12.50 Euro / 14.00 USD / 9.00 UK; 533 pages

The Irish fight for independence is one of the most captivating tales of the twentieth century. Morgan Llywelyn, the acclaimed historical writer of books like 'Lion of Ireland' and 'The Horse Goddesses', is the writer born to bring this epic battle to life. Having created an entire body of work chronicling the Celts and Ireland, she now turns to recent Irish history to create a multivolume saga: 'The Irish Century'.

This novel tells the story of the Irish War of Independence and the heartbreaking civil war that followed. Henry Mooney, a reporter for the 'Clare Champion' and the 'Irish Bulletin', is a self-described "moderate nationalist" who struggles to see the truth in the news of the day, and to report it fairly. Lacking the more radical Republican beliefs of his dear friends Ned Halloran and Sile Duffy, Henry reports the political - and, later, bloody - actions of his fellow Irishmen from the ashes of the failed 1916 Rising to the creation of the Irish Free State to the tragic and wide-ranging battles of the Irish Civil War.

Meanwhile, Henry feels the impact of these history-changing events in his own personal life. His friendship with Ned falters when their political beliefs diverge, and an unexpected tragedy leaves them further apart than ever. Henry struggles with his passion for a well-bred Protestant Anglo-Irish woman, Ella Rutledge, and as he dutifully reports the events in the political battle for independence, he comes to realize that the Irish struggle for freedom will leave no life untouched - and no Irish citizen with a dry eye or an untroubled heart. (Our Fiction Book for the Month of May 2001).

1916: A Novel of the Irish Rebellion by Morgan Llywelyn

Paperback; 12.50 Euro / 14.00 USD / 9.00 UK; 543 pages

The Easter Rising of 1916 was a major turning point in Irish history. Inspired by poets and schoolteachers, fueled by a desperate desire for freedom, and played out in the historic streets of Dublin against a background of World War I, the novel is a story of tremendous power and unique poignancy.

Ned Halloran has lost both his parents, and almost his own life, to the sinking of the Titanic, and has lost his sister to America. Determined to keep what little he has, he returns to Ireland and enrolls at Saint Enda's school in Dublin. Saint Enda's headmaster is the renowned scholar and poet, Patrick Pearse - who is soon to gain greater and undying fame as a rebel and patriot. Ned becomes totally involved with the growing revolution … and the sacrifices it will demand.

Meanwhile, in America, his sister feels her own urge toward freedom, both for her native Ireland and herself. Kathleen too becomes involved in the larger struggle, as America's role in the Irish fight for freedom escalates. Politics, conspiracy, and betrayal become part of a New World she never expected.

The novel examines the Irish fight for freedom, which parallels in so many ways America's own bid for independence. For the first time, it gives us a look at the heroic women who were willing to fight and die beside their men for the sake of the future. Above all, this novel is the story of the valiant patriots who, for a few unforgettable days, held out against the might of empire to realize an impossible dream. It is a vivid and compelling portrait of the birth of modern Ireland.

Morgan Llywelyn is the author of a succession of books that chronicle the legendary and historical figures of Ireland's past, from the pre-Christian era to this most recent novel. Great imagination and copious research and historical detail in her books bring alive to the modern reader the legends of Cuchulain and Finn Mac Cool, and the days of Brian Boru, Grace O'Malley, High O'Neill, and many others. (Our Book of the Month - Fiction - May 1998.)