It feels very authentic in its setting and in the historical detail: you can smell the air and feel the bleakness of the Irish moors, smell the stench of potato blight. The main character, Dualta, is deftly drawn, and you are with him from the start.
A great introduction to a momentous period in British and Irish history.
'The long tale of terror and bravery . . . is told with the deftness of a professional storyteller' - Irish Press
1826. Millions in Ireland know only famine, oppression and degradation. The landlords have ground down the tenant farmers; tithe wars and injustice are rife.
Dualta Duane battles against tyranny, struggling to survive the perils of hunger, poverty and disease. Courageous and fortified by an enduring love, Dualta's unconquerable spirit personifies the passion for freedom that rages in the soul of Ireland.
The Silent People is the second beautifully told instalment of Walter Macken's acclaimed trilogy, which impressively imagines…
Different to most other Allende books in that it does not have the same strong female lead. If anything, the main female characters are slightly cliched, and I couldn't stop thinking of Daphne and Velma! The early part of the book, when Diego de la Vega, the character who becomes Zorro, is perhaps the most engaging.
Allende's writing is always superb - this is not her best, but well worth a read.
Bestselling author Isabel Allende's first adult novel since 'Portrait in Sepia' - beautiful, disturbing and atmospheric.
Beneath the mask, there is a man. And in his heart burns the fire of injustice ...
Duels at dawn, fierce battles with pirates and impossible rescues - these are the deeds that forged the legend of Zorro. But where did the man begin?
Southern California, late 18th century: Diego de la Vega is a child of two worlds, his father an aristocratic Spaniard, his mother a Shoshone warrior. Growing up he witnesses the brutual injustices dealt to Native Americans. Later, following the example…
A non-fiction account of the Jamaican slave uprising in early 1832. Despite the apparently specialist subject, it is not a dry read. It tells a proper story of a fascinating insurrection against slavery, which led to the British Parliament outlawing slavery in all its forms, not just the slave trade. The events are shaming from a British perspective (but there is also the fact that they ended the practice long before others). The brave stand that was taken by the slaves is something that should be a source of pride to descendants.
The book is really well written, so even if fiction is normally your thing, this is worth a try, and takes your mind to places you might not expect. The research is admirable.
"Tom Zoellner tells the story of Sam Sharpe's revolution manque, and the subsequent abolition of slavery in Jamaica, in a way that's acutely relevant to the racial unrest of our own time. Island on Fire is impeccably researched and seductively readable."-Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls' Rising
From a New York Times bestselling author, a gripping account of the slave rebellion that led to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.
For five horrific weeks after Christmas in 1831, Jamaica was convulsed by an uprising of its enslaved people. What…
My reads of 2025 all have a theme of struggle against tyranny and were used in research for my forthcoming novel on Samuel Holberry. So much went into the research that it gave birth to this non-fiction version of Holberry's life, co-authored with the leading expert on the subject.
Samuel Holberry felt he had no choice but to rise up. In 1839, his neighbours were out of work; men, women, and children were dying of starvation and disease caused by atrocious living conditions. The Chartists sent huge petitions to Parliament, signed by millions - but they were laughed at: the propertied classes would never cede power!
Holberry risked everything to force change and was, in effect, murdered by the State for his efforts. Many Chartists fled to the U.S. to avoid his fate. Britain's loss―of bright, dynamic, freedom-loving men and women―was America's gain. His, and others' sacrifices for democracy, gave us freedoms we enjoy today: we take these hard-fought rights for granted at our peril.
In the U.S, U.K., and around the world, democracy is losing ground to individuals and organizations who don't believe ordinary people should have a say, who believe democracy, liberty, and freedom of expression are not in their own interests, and are working to undermine them.
There are voters who are kept ignorant of how democrats like Holberry died so that they could have a right to vote―voters who say they can't be bothered, who would seemingly give away their rights to autocrats. The forces that Holberry tried to rein in, which silenced him, are still all around us. Democracy is fragile―we need to understand our history to avoid mistakes of the past.
