Brilliantly weaving impeccable historical research with stirring storytelling, Edward Rutherfurd explores our shared Celtic roots in a magnificent epic of Ireland spanning eleven centuries. While vividly conveying the passions and struggles that shaped particularly the character of Dublin, Rutherfurd portrays the major events in Irish history: the tribal culture of pagan Ireland; the mission of Saint Patrick; the coming of the Vikings; the making of treasures like the Book of Kells; and the trickery of Henry II, which gave England its first foothold in medieval Ireland. Through the interlocking stories of a memorable cast of characters¿́¿druids and chieftains, monks and smugglers, noblewomen and farmwives, laborers and orphans, rebels and cowards¿́¿Rutherfurd captures the essence of a place and its people in a thrilling story steeped in the tragedy and glory that are Ireland.-- Back cover.