Historical fiction books set in Ireland (21)


Find more books set in Ireland by genre:
1.

The Colony by Audrey Magee EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
2022 Booker Longlisted. Mr Lloyd has decided to travel to the island by boat without engine - the authentic experience. Unbeknownst to him, Mr Masson will also soon be arriving for the summer. Both will strive to encapsulate the truth of this place - one in his paintings, the other by capturing its speech, the language he hopes to preserve. But the people who live on this rock - three miles long and half-a-mile wide - have their own views on what is being recorded, what is being taken and what is given in return. Soft summer days pass, and the islanders are forced to question what they val... continue

2.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne EN

Rating: 5 (9 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Named Book of the Month Club's Book of the Year, 2017 Selected one of New York Times Readers’ Favorite Books of 2017 Winner of the 2018 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, a sweeping, heartfelt saga about the course of one man's life, beginning and ending in post-war Ireland Cyril Avery is not a real Avery -- or at least, that's what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn't a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and ... continue

3.

The Pull of the Stars : A Novel by Emma Donoghue EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
THE NEW #1 BESTSELLER FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE WONDER AND ROOM Dublin, 1918: three days in a maternity ward at the height of the great flu. A small world of work, risk, death and unlooked-for love, by the bestselling author of The Wonder and Room. In an Ireland doubly ravaged by war and disease, Nurse Julia Power works at an understaffed hospital in the city centre, where expectant mothers who have come down with the terrible new flu are quarantined together. Into Julia's regimented world step two outsiders--Doctor Kathleen Lynn, on the run from the police, and a young volunteer helper, Bridie S... continue

4.

Nora : A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce by Nuala O'Connor EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Acclaimed Irish novelist Nuala O'Connor's bold reimagining of the life of James Joyce's wife, muse, and the model for Molly Bloom in Ulysses is a "lively and loving paean to the indomitable Nora Barnacle" (Edna O'Brien). Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway who left school at twelve, is a chambermaid at Finn's Hotel, and has all but given up on a happy ending. But on June 16--Bloomsday--her life is changed when she meets James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows him in pursuit of a life beyond ... continue

5.

The Master : retrato del novelista adulto by Colm Tóibín ES

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Colm Tóibín nació en Enniscorthy (Irlanda) en 1955 y, tras graduarse en Historia y Filología Inglesa en la University College Dublin, pasó largas temporadas en España que han tenido un fiel reflejo en su narrativa. Ha publicado una amplia obra periodística y de crítica literaria en Irish Independent, The Guardian y el Times Literary Supplement y actualmente escribe con regularidad para la London Review of Books, pero se dio a conocer al gran público con The Trial of the Generals (1990) y los libros de viajes Mala sangre: peregrinación a lo largo de la frontera irlandesa (1987) y La señal de la... continue

6.

Sing, Wild Bird, Sing by Jacqueline O'Mahony EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
A courageous woman journeys from nineteenth-century Ireland to the American West in a powerful novel about the indomitable will to survive--and to flourish--against nearly impossible odds. It's 1849 on the west coast of Ireland. Resilient Honora O'Donoghue is accustomed to fending for herself and to reading the language of the natural world. It was always said she'd been marked for something different, but it's not until she suffers devastating losses in a country gripped by the Famine that Honora begins to understand how that difference will save her. With the hope of a better life in America... continue


8.

Juno Loves Legs : A Novel by Karl Geary EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
For fans of Shuggie Bain and A Little Life, Juno Loves Legs is the epic and heartbreaking story of a young friendship set in working-class Dublin in the 1980s Juno Loves Legs is the story of two teens labeled as delinquents. Juno and "Legs" grow up on the same housing estate in Dublin, where spirited, intelligent Juno is ostracized for her poverty and Legs is persecuted for his sexuality; they find safety only in each other. Set against the backdrop of Dublin in the 1980s, a place of political, social and religious change, the friends yearn for an unbound life and together they begin to fight ... continue

9.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín EN

Rating: 4 (4 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
It is Enniscorthy in the southeast of Ireland in the early 1950s. Eilis Lacey is one among many of her generation who cannot find work at home. Thus when a job is offered in America, it is clear to everyone that she must go. Leaving her family and country, Eilis heads for unfamiliar Brooklyn, and to a crowded boarding house where the landlady's intense scrutiny and the small jealousies of her fellow residents only deepen her isolation. Slowly, however, the pain of parting is buried beneath the rhythms of her new life -- until she begins to realize that she has found a sort of happiness. As she... continue

10.

Airman by Eoin Colfer EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Conor Broekhart was born to fly. Or more accurately, he was born flying. Little wonder he became what he became. In an age of discovery and invention, many dreamed of flying, but for Conor flight was more than just a dream, it was his destiny. In one dark night on the island of Great Saltee, a cruel and cunning betrayal destroyed his life and stole his future. Now Conor must win the race for flight, to save his family and right a terrible wrong...

11.

This is Happiness by Niall Williams EN

Rating: 5 (3 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Shortlisted for Best Novel in the Irish Book Awards Longlisted for the 2020 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction From the acclaimed author of Man Booker-longlisted History of the Rain 'Lyrical, tender and sumptuously perceptive' Sunday Times 'A love letter to the sleepy, unhurried and delightfully odd Ireland that is all but gone' Irish Independent After dropping out of the seminary, seventeen-year-old Noel Crowe finds himself back in Faha, a small Irish parish where nothing ever changes, including the ever-falling rain. But one morning the rain stops and news reaches the parish – the ele... continue


13.

The Cruelty Men by Emer Martin EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
"This book is a sweeping multi-generational view of an Irish-speaking family who moved from Kerry to the Meath Gaeltacht and the disasters that befall their children in Irish institutions."-- Publisher's web site.

14.

Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth EN

Rating: 4 (3 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
** Shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2024 ** ** Shortlisted for the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award by the British Book Awards ** ** Shortlisted for the 2023 Nero Book Award for Debut Fiction ** ** Longlisted for the Diverse Book Awards 2024 ** ** An Evening Standard 'One to Watch in 2023 ** ** An Independent ‘Best Romantic Summer Reads' ** ** A Book of the Month pick for Diva, Irish Examiner, Novellic & Sainsbury’s Magazine ** ** A Most Anticipated pick for PinkNews & Queer on the Street ** It's the early 1990s, and in the Irish village of Crossmore, Lucy feels out of place. D... continue

15.

Rebel Sisters by Marita Conlon-McKenna EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
The No.1 bestselling novel from one of Ireland's most loved writers! With the threat of the First World War looming, tension simmers under the surface of Ireland. Bright, beautiful and intelligent, the Gifford sisters Grace, Muriel and Nellie kick against the conventions of their privileged, wealthy Anglo-Irish background and their mother Isabella's expectations. As War erupts across Europe, the spirited sisters soon find themselves caught up in Ireland's struggle for freedom. Muriel falls deeply in love with writer Thomas MacDonagh, artist Grace meets the enigmatic Joe Plunkett - both leaders... continue

16.

Tipperary by Frank Delaney EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
“My wooing began in passion, was defined by violence and circumscribed by land; all these elements molded my soul.” So writes Charles O’Brien, the unforgettable hero of bestselling author Frank Delaney’s extraordinary novel—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 ... continue

17.

At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Praised as “a work of wild, vaulting ambition and achievement” by Entertainment Weekly, Jamie O’Neill’s first novel invites comparison to such literary greats as James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Charles Dickens. Jim Mack is a naïve young scholar and the son of a foolish, aspiring shopkeeper. Doyler Doyle is the rough-diamond son—revolutionary and blasphemous—of Mr. Mack’s old army pal. Out at the Forty Foot, that great jut of rock where gentlemen bathe in the nude, the two boys make a pact: Doyler will teach Jim to swim, and in a year, on Easter of 1916, they will swim to the distant beacon of ... continue

18.

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS In the National Book Award–winning Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann thrilled readers with a marvelous high-wire act of fiction that The New York Times Book Review called “an emotional tour de force.” Now McCann demonstrates once again why he is one of the most acclaimed and essential authors of his generation with a soaring novel that spans continents, leaps centuries, and unites a cast of deftly rendered characters, both real and imagined. Newfoundland, 1919. Two a... continue

19.

Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
From the National Book Award-winning and bestselling author of Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic, comes a novella and three stories of immediate power and grace 'A superbly crafted and deeply moving collection of fiction...underscores [McCann's] reputation as a contemporary master' Kirkus 'Separate and together, these four works prove McCann a master with a poet's ear, a psychologist's understanding, and a humanitarian's conscience' Publishers Weekly _______________________ A story in this collection has been longlisted for the Sunday Times EFG short story award As it was, it was like... continue

20.

The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story. Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal. Dublin, 2023... continue

21.

Haven by Emma Donoghue EN

Rating: 2 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
Three men vow to leave the world behind them. They set out in a small boat for an island their leader has seen in a dream, with only faith to guide them. What they find is the extraordinary island now known as Skellig Michael. Haven has Emma Donoghue's trademark world-building and psychological intensity--but this story is like nothing she has ever written before. In seventh-century Ireland, a scholar and priest called Artt has a dream telling him to leave the sinful world behind. Taking two monks--young Trian and old Cormac--he rows down the river Shannon in search of an isolated spot on whic... continue