Year of French [Paperback]

Flanagan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 1988

In 1798, a band of Irishmen in County Mayo rose against British rule. The French, secure in the success of their own Revolution and motivated by a desire to harass the British, decided to come to their aid. It was the year of the French.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A circumspect and grippingly authentic account that stands as a stark warning against the romanticisation of torrid times. The result is a classic of historical fiction." — The Times (London)

" . . . handsomely written . . . [a] splendid novel." — Denis Donogue, New York Review of Books

"I haven’t so enjoyed a historical novel since The Charterhouse of Parma and War and Peace."
— John Leonard, The New York Times

"Such a brutal and pathetic story would alone have sufficed to make this book absorbing, but Flanagan has much more on his mind. He means to create not only a plausible sense of place and character, and an accurate account of evens, but to recreate, from barroom to manor hall, the entire intellectual and emotional climate of the time. . . . not only a serious book. . . . but a distinguished one as well." — Peter S. Prescott, Newsweek

"A masterwork of historical fiction." — The Philadelphia Inquirer --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Thomas Flanagan (1923-2002) was a novelist, scholar, and critic. He was the author of The Irish Novelists, 1800–1850 (1959) and the novels The Year of the French (1979), The Tenants of Time(1988), and The End of the Hunt (1994).

Seamus Deane, Professor of English and Donald and Marilyn Keough Professor of Irish Studies, is a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a founding director of the Field Day Theatre Company, the general editor of the Penguin Joyce, and the author of several books, including A Short History of Irish Literature; Celtic Revivals; Essays in Modern Irish Literature; The French Revolution and Enlightenment in England, and Strange Country: Modernity and the Nation.

  --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Pocket (March 2, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671669745
• ISBN-13: 978-0671669744
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,323,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest historical novel written in English, December 3, 2000

By 

Ralph H. Peters (Washington, D.C. area) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Year of the French (Paperback)

Anyone has a right to be suspicious of claims that appear extravagant, but, upon reflection, I genuinely believe this is the finest historical novel written in English, at least in the twentieth century (I suppose we should count "Vanity Fair" and "A Tale of Two Cities" as historicals, but none of poor, old Walter Scott's works compete). Its foreign language competition is limited to a handful of books, From "War and Peace," "The Leopard," and "The Forty Days of Musa Dagh," to "Am Himmel wie auf Erden," "Vor dem Sturm," and "I Promessi Sposi." Thomas Flanagan is simply a brilliant writer--lucid, thoroughly-engaging, controlled and masterful. His prose is flawless. Except for "The Leopard," I know of no historical novel that so richly and convincingly captures the ambience of a bygone world. The weather and the feel of chilled mud, the prejudice of blood, the nuances of the social order and the confusion of military operations, the errors and casual oversights that shape lives, and the interplay of great events and individual tragedies are all so perfectly interwoven and gracefully presented that the reader forgets this is only a novel and enters another reality. Of course, all this will sound like hyperbole to those who have not yet read this book--but once you have read it, you will find it haunts you for a long time. I've given several copies to cherished friends, as I also have done with Penelope Fitzgerald's "The Blue Flower" (which might have been a competitor for "best historical," were it not such a transcendent book that it won't be characterized by any genre). This is a wonderful book--please read it and help keep it in print.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweeping And Poetic, September 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Year of the French (Paperback)

The first book in Flanagan's panaromic sweep of Irish history. (see "Tenants of Time" & "The End of the Hunt")

Well written with characters the reader cares about set against the historical back drop of Wolfe Tone's failed 1789 rebellion against the English.

Compelling, a must read! Once you've read one of Flanagan's books you find yourself wishing he had written more, or started writing earlier.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtakingly beautiful telling of a heartbreaking story, June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Year of the French (Paperback)

This is writing at its finest, making the drama of history come alive through characters we relate to and care about. I was swept along from the first paragraph, held captive by beautiful language and vivid detail. As has been said of the Irish, "There's no cause like a lost cause". Writing like this makes one of history's saddest stories live on in the hearts of anyone lucky enough to come across it. I can't recommend this book highly enough.