Customer Reviews

Cashelmara

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Susan Howatch has written a gripping multigenerational tale of a titled English family who live on their Irish estate, Cashelmara, during the 19th century. This family saga is interwoven with Irish and English politics of the period, self-rule, the Great Famine, emigration, etc.. The years after the Irish famine were marked with issues like the land question and the struggle for independence. Tenants started to demand more security of land tenure. At the same time, landlords were eager to remove paupers from their land to reduce their poor law charges. The landlord/tenant divide was exacerbated by this conflict. The drama of Cashelmara takes place against this explosive backdrop.

Edward de Salis, an English nobleman with vast landholdings in Ireland and England travels to America and visits the Marriot family, distant relations in New York City. De Salis, a man in his fifties, has been a widower for eight years and has a young son, Patrick, and three older daughters, all married or living away from home. He returns to England with plans to marry seventeen year-old Marguerite Marriot, to his family's great consternation. Marguerite and Edward are married at the family estate, Cashelmara. Oddly enough the marriage turns out to be a love match. Times become difficult when Edward dies and finances become tight. Cashelmara and the situation in Ireland begin to weigh heavily on the family with unexpected results. This historical novel is filled with romance, intrigue, social and political unrest and family drama.

Ms. Howatch is able to vividly describe the same situation through the eyes of various characters. These differing points of view give tremendous depth to her characters and interesting insight into their personalities and ulterior motives. The events they are involved in become more complex when all the versions are compiled. Cashelmara's plot unfolds through the individual stories of five people. The author's research and attention to detail are meticulous and give the reader insight into the hardships and difficulties of 19th century Ireland. Cashelmara is an example of excellent historical fiction.
JANA

This is the kind of book I love--- involved, lots of interesting charactors, a story that is believable and makes one want to keep reading. The middle of the book gets into a subject that was not mentioned much in other books I have read that were written in the mid 70's, and I was surprised when the plot took that turn, although the hints were there from the first. I just wasn't expecting the story to get so specific. I had my favorite charactors, then they would turn out to be not what I had thought-- the whole book was one I kept looking forward to going back to.

When I finished it, I was almost drained with emotion. That sure doesn't happen to me very often. I loved it.

'Cashelmara' is Susan Howatch's re-telling of the story of Edward II, King of England 1307-1327, updated to nineteenth-century Ireland. If you're not at all interested in Edward II, or know nothing about him, it's absolutely no problem - you can thoroughly enjoy this novel anyway. However, working out who each character represents historically - for example, Derry Stranahan is 'really' Edward II's favourite Piers Gaveston, while Maxwell Drummond stands for Queen Isabella's lover Roger Mortimer - was a big part of my enjoyment of the novel!

'Cashelmara' is divided into six sections. Each section is narrated in the first person, by a different character. I love this structure, as you really get into the heads of the different characters, and see how they think and see themselves and others. Howatch has complete command of her structure and pulls it off wonderfully.

If you know anything about fourteenth-century English history, you'll see how accurate a re-telling it is. If not, you're sure to enjoy a well-told and fascinating novel that's full of emotional ups and downs. I agree with a previous reviewer who called it emotionally draining! 'Cashelmara' is a highly rewarding read.

Rave rave rave. You'll never tire of this complex and revealing novel, and once you read it, it will occur to you at odd moments forever.

This is the first book I have read by Susan Howatch. I generally dont read much of fiction and this book looked too thick as well. But I picked up this book at a friend's place when I had nothing to do and started reading it just for the sake of it. Well, I had to borrow the book home (and have no intentions of returning it) and read it as if my life depended on finishing it. The story spans three generations and the characters seem real. These are people who driven by circumstances (including a crop famine) and family ties hate, love,sacrifice, take revenge, and even kill. Gripping stuff. You will be able to identify with all the characters in the book and thanks to the writer's skill, will be able to understand why they behave the way they do. Just read it! .

I read this book 20 years ago and have re-read it several times since then. I was drawn in to the book immediately upon opening it. I have read every novel of hers except the Church of England series. I love her style in which she tells the story from each of the character's perspectives. Does anyone know if she plans on writing another historical novel along the lines of this book or Penmarric? I can't get into the spiritual clergy theme of her latest novels, much as I've tried, and am ever hopeful she'll write a new novel similar to Cashelmara.

I happened across this book in 1997 in the library. I was amazed by the writing style and the grittiness of some of the subject matter WITHOUT modern pulp fiction-style explicitness. The story revealed much of the conditions of 19th century Ireland which was of historical interest, but was not the main point of the book. When I finished the book I remember setting it down and feeling amazed. I began reading all of Ms. Howatch's works. As of this date, I have read 10 of her novels. I recommend them to all.

This is Susan Howatch's very best book. I could feel each character and understand their emotional makeup. I could "see" Cashelmara, the countryside surrounding it and appreciate the isolation and hardship involved with the poor living in a tiny, remote village. It was another time, another place and a different way of life. Still, I could relate to it and the story captivated my heart. Thank you Susan Howatch.

Don't be put off by Howatch's image as a "popular" writer; her prose is as engaging and her characters as vividly drawn as one could hope. Familiarity with early-fourteenth-century English history will serve you well as you read this, but I suspect it can be enjoyed equally well by the newcomer to the joys of the medieval world. Fans of Irish history will find much to savor here as well.

Like another reviewer on this page, I can honestly say that this is one of my favorite books. I have re-read it several times and it gets better each time. Howatch is a master! I too find her Church of England series tedious and wish she would write another book in the tradition of Cashelmara, Wheel of Fortune, The Rich are Different - stories that are rich beyond compare and universally appealing.