This book is one of the best I have ever read. It will keep you hooked all the way through. The best part was taking truth and turning it into something very exciting. This is coming from someone who doesn't like to read. Brain Boru Fought his way from nothing to high king gathering loyal followers form all parts of Ireland. Quit wasting time reading this and find a copy of the book.

Another wonderful book by Morgan Llywellyn.

This is a historically accurate novel that keeps you glued until the very end. I found myself transported to a time of medieval towns and kings. Brian Boru had me rooting for the Irish from start to finish!

A real page burner, get away from those dusty tomes and read what a real writer has done with history. Take the skeleton from the archives of librarys with stuffy stated details add flesh, and personna with accurate research and voila, you have an outstanding, interesting, and highly readable piece of literature that should be required reading in the halls of Academia....

1949, the third book in Morgan Llywelyn's series about 20th Century Ireland ( I am told there will be two more) is a compelling story of Ireland's continued struggle for complete independence from British rule, and for those who have been anxiously awaiting for this story, I can assure you, you will not be disappointed.

Ursula, aka Precious, was found wandering the streets of Dublin as a toddler by Ned Halloran, who readers of 1916 and 1921 will remember. Her parentage a question, Ned was taken in by Ned and his wife, Sile, and raised as their own.

1949 is Ursula's story. It opens in the early days of the Irish Free State and ends with the forming of the Republic in 1949. We follow Ursula as she leaves Neds family farm in County Clare at the urging of Henry and Ella Mooney (who readers will also remember from 1916 and 1921). Henry wouldn't let Ella use any of her family's money to help support their family but does agree for her to pay for Ursula's education at an exclusive private school in Switzerland.

When Ursula returns to Ireland she secures a job at the new radio station, helping write copy (but never allowed to be on the air herself). Through her eyes we see the continued political struggle in Ireland and her view of world events in the days before the second world war.

Ursula has vowed never to marry, in large part due to new laws in Ireland against married women working outside the home. Nevertheless, she is very attractive to the opposite sex and to two men in particular - Finbar Cassidy, an Irish government official whose political views frequently clash with her own, and Lewis Baines, a dashing young English pilot whose conquests of beautiful women have become legendary.

Morgan Llywelyn, whose knowledge of Irish politics and history is really unequalled in historical fiction written today, liberally adds historical facts and events to add depth and interest but never detracting from the overall story.

I can't remember when I have looked forward to a book more. Readers of 1916 and 1921 will enjoy visits with characters important in those books including Henry and Ella Mooney, Ned Halloran, and Ned's family in County Clare. Llywelyn's stories appeal to a wide variety of readers and my husband and daughter, both of whom have read 1916 and 1921, were fighting over who was going to get to read 1949 when I finished.

Assuming this was the last in the series the author started with 1916, it was truly a great finish. The main character in this book was the best of all her characters, and the way she interweaves the fictional plot with real events is just amazing. Through reading this series, the reader learns a tremendous amount of interesting history, and also will meet unforgettable fictional characters. To anyone interested in Irish history, and/or just a series of good books, I would recommend reading 1916, 1921 and most definitely 1949, preferably one after the other, because there are so many recurring characters that they may become hard to remember if one of the arlier books was read too long ago.

This book helped me further explore my interest in Irish history. It is very difficult to sift through the thousands of sub-standard to awful texts written on Ireland and her people, and this book has helped find the books truly worth reading. I haven't found a bad book that was recommended by The Essential Library.

Morgan has once again used her background as a historical researcher combined with an easy flowing style to give the most succint encapsulation of at least 100 books, covering several genres. Better than reading a review in the New York Times. It allows you to be knowledgable of the context and contents of these wonderful books as if you have already read the book, but tugs at your intellect to read the whole story. It provides insights about many of the authors and their works that could only have been written by one who loves the written word.

Morgan is descriptive, historacly accurate, tuning this book into it's fine detail. It really makes you feel like you are part of the action, you cheer when Brian conquers and cry with all his suffering and loss. You get to know the main characters, and sence Ireland and the way it was when Boru reigned.

Absolutely incredible is how I would describe this book. Morgan Llywelyn's descriptions of Brian Boru and life in his camp bring the subject alive. It was like being there! You HAVE to read this book!

Morgan has once again used her background as a historical researcher combined with an easy flowing style to give the most succint encapsulation of at least 100 books, covering several genres. Better than reading a review in the New York Times. It almost allows you to talk as if you have read the whole story without having to do so. It provides insights about many of the authors, that provides a colorful background tapestry, that makes you want to rush right out and read all of the books she has reviewed.

Collection of Morgan Llywelyn's finest stories, including:

"Veronica's Gift," "Porch Swing," "A View of Wickerwork," "Getting Ahead," "A Cook is Born," "At Night," "The Man Who Killed the Last Great Auk," "Their Son," "The Mistletoe," "Bough," "Princess," "Me, Tree," "The Sanhedron," "Ego," "Untitled," "The Plum Tree," "This is My Beloved," "Do This, Do That."

Introduction by Marvin Kaye.

This was a great book. Some of the stories had no resolution, or no point. Inheritance, in particular, ended with a dream rather than conflict resolution. That was really the only stinker, though. A story that would fit well in a collection of Fairy Tales was 'Brass Man That Would Sink' (my favorite of all the tales in the book). Some of the stories were too short (The Light in the Forest), but still managed to deliver an enjoyable read. "...And I must admit... I love (driving) it; it is so choice. If you have the means, I highly reccomend that you pick one up."--Mathew Broderick, 'Ferris Buelers Day Off'

I am looking for a fictional book which I believe is about Strongbow. The book has a stylized "strongbow" figure on the cover in yellow or gold. The story is basically this: the main character (Strongbow? or someone deluded into believing he is Strongbow?)gets tired of life, strips naked and leaves to travel the world while attending a party for the Queen. Once in the middle east, he swims oceans and walks across deserts while deep in thought. He enjoys a simple nomadic life with a bedouin wife and fathers children by her. If I remember correctly, he has a very long life .. or does not ever die. Don't know authors name, nor the book's title. Can anyone help me find it? I read it in 1986 and gave it away .. not realizing I really enjoyed and should have kept it!

I have just finished reading this interesting book. It has accurate facts about Brian Boru's life, from his humble beginnings to his ultimate victory. While I truely enjoyed reading this book I found that Brian was too good to be true as a real person. His hatred towards the northmen is too exaggerated for the time as the vikings were becoming a true part of Irish society. However I see that it is all necessary for the dramatic tension of the novel and a little historical fantasy does not go astray. I would recommend it to anybody who is interested in Irelands pre Norman history. A fascinating read!

In the tenth century, the Norsemen assault the minor relatively peaceful Irish Clan. They pilfer, rape, and randomly kill without a second thought. Observing the cruel attack in shock is a young lad, Brian mac Cennedi. He vows that one day there will be vengeance for the wanton death and destruction that the marauders brought to his clan.

As he grows into adulthood, Brian never forgot his vow. He begins his quest of revenge starting with efforts to unite the Irish clans under his rule. His battles with Viking and Irish alike become legendary as no one fights more ferociously than Brian does in battle. Eventually he conquers and unites the land, becoming known as Boru, the High King of Ireland.

LION OF IRELAND is an exciting historical fiction tale that cleverly blends known facts, legends, and Morgan Llywellyn's wonderful imagination into a great epic tale. The story line vividly provides a feel for tenth century Ireland without skimping on the action or on character development. The heroic Brian, the three key females, and his foes are fully developed so that the audience understands their motives while obtaining more insight into an interesting era. Ms. Llywellyn is the bard of Irish fictional history.

Harriet Klausner

The LION OF IRELAND is historical fiction at its best with just enough romance and myth sprinkled in to keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning. The author writes a very authentic tale of what life may have been like in 10th century Ireland. In a time where greed, revenge and superstition reigned Brian Boru's vision of a united Ireland was not well received. His perserverance, shrewd intellect and visionary military strategies set the stage for him to unite a people and become the greatest king of Ireland. The tragedies in Brian Boru's life are just as formidable as his conquests which make this book a very compelling read.
This book is a page turner and I didn't want it to end.

when you're in the mood for some short whistful escapist romantic stories in a celtic setting, pick up this one. good for a rainy sunday afternoon.

Wonderful stories of magic, romance, and irish lore. If you like to curl up at night with a short story, this is a great book for you. I was delighted with this book and with Irish Magic II.

This book will not appeal to everyone and is reviewed in the context of the intended audience. It is a collection of four novelettes by master storytellers. The first story, "Galway Bay" by Morgan Llywelan, is a change of pace for readers familiar with her full length historical novels. It is set in modern times, and concerns a part-Irish woman on vacation in Galway, Ireland, who encounters the underlying realities of Irish folklore and discovers romance in an unexpected place. The second story, "The Harpers's Daughter" by Barbara Samuel, is set in ancient Ireland and concerns Deirdre, destined to be the bride of a king, but she loves another. Expressed in Deirdre's thoughts (about other women in the king's court), "One of them, one day, would have the warrior who'd snared her heart, while she would lie with the fat, old king. It wasn't fair." Deirdre is cursed with extraordinary beauty that creates uncontrolled lust in the minds of any men who see her. Can she find a refuge with the man she loves, and will magic protect them? The third and fourth stories deal with connections to the spirit world in an ancient Irish setting. The third, "The Trysting Hour" by Susan Wiggs, is about a spirit that can assume a mortal man's shape, and who desires a woman meant to be a king's wife. Can he win her hand while he prevents the king from consumating the marriage? And is she really an ordinary mortal woman? The fourth, "Rarer than a White Crow" by Roberta Gellis, has a man placed under a spell by a shape-changing witch with her own agenda (which can only be guessed at). People are at an interface between the spirit world and the mortal world. Angus must win the hand of Caer and love her til the end of her days in order to be free from the spell, but that is easier said than done. Can they thwart the real agenda of the witch? The book contains explicit sex and violence. It is an excellent set of stories for those interested in this type of fantasy romance.