Description
Book SynopsisThe story of Charles Stewart Parnell, one of the greatest Irish leaders of the nineteenth century and also one of the most renowned figures of the 1880s on the international stage, and John Dillon, the most celebrated of Parnell's lieutenants. As Paul Bew shows, the differences between the two men reflect both Ireland's past and its future.
Trade ReviewAn intricate account brings out the contrasts and commonalities in the lives of John Dillon and Charles Stewart Parnell. * Philip Stephens, Financial Times *
A timely volume on compelling characters...Paul Bew immerses the reader in the dynamics of nationalist politics and Anglo-Irish relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and dissects the rhetoric and mentalities underpinning them with authoritativeness and panache. * Diarmaid Ferriter, Irish Times *
Perceptive and intelligent * Andrew Lynch, Irish Independent *
Lord Bew is a great scholar and a transparently good man... it is immensely gratifying that he has brought out an excellent new book, Ancestral Voices, as a coda to his magnum opus Ireland: The Politics of Enmity, 1789-2006. * Daniel Johnson, The Critic *
A succinct but insightful summing up of the literature on the [Irish constitutional nationalist] movement... The particular value of this book is its focus on the challenge of reconciling the two communities in Ireland, both then and now. * Felix M. Larkin, Irish Catholic *
An absorbing study... Paul Bew combines an immense contribution to parliamentary life with prodigious work as an Irish historian, famed for his balance and fairness. Along with Roy Foster, the first professor of Irish history at Oxford, he has largely shaped our generation's understanding of Ireland's past * Lord Lexden, The House *
Bew's study of these "ancestral voices" is not some meditative re-revision of their places in the pantheon, but a granular study of agrarian agitation and parliamentary tussle. * Patrick Hudson *
Ancestral Voices in Irish Politics, a book for readers who share his fascination for the warp and weft of political ideas and manoeuvres, is a vehicle for two principal arguments. * Matthew Kelly, TLS *
Table of ContentsForeword 1: Hereditary Patriotism 2: John Mitchel and his Legacy 3: The Revolution 4: Dillon versus Parnell 5: 'What does Mr Parnell say?' 6: The Ambiguities of the Liberal Alliance 7: Friendship or Hatred? 1887-1891: The Contradictions of John Dillon 8: Dillon's World 1891-1918: Banquo's Ghost Again Conclusion
