Tipperary Book

â??My wooing began in passion, was defined by violence and circumscribed by land; all these elements molded my soul.â? So writes Charles Oâ??Brien, the unforgettable hero of bestselling author Frank Delaneyâ??s extraordinary new novelâ??a sweeping epic of obsession, profound devotion, and compelling history involving a turbulent era that would shape modern Ireland. Born into a respected Irish-Anglo family in 1860, Charles loves his native land and its long-suffering but irrepressible people. As a healer, he travels the countryside dispensing traditional cures while soaking up stories and legends of bygone timesâ??and witnessing the painful, often violent birth of land-reform measures destined to lead to Irish independence.At the age of forty, summoned to Paris to treat his dying countrymanâ??the infamous Oscar Wildeâ??Charles experiences the fateful moment of his life. In a chance encounter with a beautiful and determined young Englishwoman, eighteen-year-old April Burke, he is instantly and passionately smittenâ??but callously rejected. Vowing to improve himself, Charles returns to Ireland, where he undertakes the preservation of the great and abandoned estate of Tipperary, in whose shadow he has lived his whole lifeâ??and which, he discovers, may belong to April and her father. As Charles pursues his obsession, he writes the â??Historyâ? of his own life and country. While doing so, he meets the great figures of the day, including Charles Parnell, William Butler Yeats, and George Bernard Shaw. And he also falls victim to less well-known charactersâ??who prove far more dangerous. Tipperary also features a second â??historian:â? a present-day commentator, a retired and obscure history teacher who suddenly discovers that he has much at stake in the telling of Charlesâ??s story.In this gloriously absorbing and utterly satisfying novel, a manâ??s passion for the woman he loves is twinned with his countryâ??s emergence as a nation. With storytelling as sweeping and dramatic as the land itself, myth, fact, and fiction are all woven together with the power of the great nineteenth-century novelists. Tipperary once again proves Frank Delaneyâ??s unrivaled mastery at bringing Irish history to life. Praise for Frank Delaneyâ??s TIPPERARY:â??[T]he narrative moves swiftly and surelyâ?¦A sort of Irish Gone With the Wind, marked by sly humor, historical awareness and plenty of staying power.â? â?? Kirkus Reviewsâ??[A]nother meticulously researched journeyâ?¦Delaneyâ??s careful scholarship and compelling storytelling bring it uniquely alive. Highly recommended.â? â?? Library Journal (starred)â??Sophisticated and creative.â? â?? Booklistâ??Delaneyâ??s confident storytelling and quirky characterizations enrich a fascinating and complex period of Irish history.â? â?? Publishers Weeklyâ??Read just a few sentences of Frank Delaneyâ??s writing and youâ??ll see why National Public Radio called him â??the worldâ??s most eloquent man.â??â? â?? Kirkus Reviews, â??Big Book Guide 2007â?From the Hardcover edition.Read More