Easter 1916: The Irish Rebellion - Softcover

Townshend, Charles

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141982470 ISBN 13: 9780141982472

Publisher: Penguin Press, 2016

Synopsis

Now with a new preface for the centenary of the Easter Rising, a compelling interpretation of the rebellion that launched Ireland into a new world. Before Easter 1916 Dublin had been a city much like any other British city, comparable to Bristol or Liverpool and part of a complex, deep-rooted British world. Many of Dublin's inhabitants wanted to weaken or terminate London's rule but there remained a vast and conflicting range of visions of that future: far more immediate was the unfolding disaster of the First World War that had put 'home rule' issues on ice for the duration. The devastating events of that Easter changed everything. Both the rising itself and-even more significantly-the ferocious British response ended any sense at all that Dublin could be anything other than the capital of an independent country, as an entire nation turned away in revulsion from the British artillery and executions. As we approach the 90th anniversary of the rebellion it is time for a new account of what really happened over those fateful few days. What did the rebels actually hope to achieve? What did the British think they were doing? And how were the events really interpreted by ordinary people across Ireland? Vivid, authoritative and gripping, Easter 1916 is a major work.

About this title

About the Author:

CHARLES TOWNSHEND's previous publications include Terrorism: A very short Introduction, Political Violence in Ireland and The British Campaign in Ireland, 1919-1921.

Review:

Enthralling and definitive . . . he writes with soldierly clarity but also delivers an emotional punch. (Roy Foster Times Literary Supplement)

The definitive account. . . . The book is fantastically detailed yet wonderfully readable. (John Banville Guardian)

Authoritative and compelling. . . . He writes with great clarity and has mined a formidable array of primary source material. (The Irish Times)

Townshend is the first author to use the full compendium of the Irish Bureau of Military History records. (Historywire)

Vivid, authoritative and gripping, Easter 1916 is a major work. (Word Power)

Remarkably evenhanded and insightful. . . . The definitive study of the topic for all students of Irish History. (CHOICE)

The author may or may not have seen active military service but his interpretation of small unit actions and close-in fighting is sharp and realistic. (John H. Carroll Catholic News Service)

Peeling back the mythology to uncover the history. (Martin Zimmerman San Diego Union-Tribune)

Summarizes some forty years of scholarship on the topic, adding its own dramatic flair and insights. . . . A quite vivid reenactment. (Library Bookwatch)

Marvelously rendered. . . . Townshend strips away . . . myth and tells the real story, which intensifies with the truth. (Blue Ridge Business Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0141982470
• ISBN 13: 9780141982472
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464