I received an advance copy of, The Irish Assassins, by Julie Kavanagh. This book was good, if a little dry at times. A history lesson of Victorian Ireland.

I recommend that you start this interesting book by reading the author's note at the end. It begins on page 357 (Kindle location 4799) of the free electronic advance review copy that Grove Atlantic Press and Netgalley generously provided me.

This advice doesn't apply to everybody, only to readers like me. I am a non-historian history nerd and an American of Irish heritage but, somehow, this whole sad and murderous episode escaped my attention up until now. It certainly wasn't taught in history classes I attended. I felt bad until I checked with the Long-Suffering Wife (smarter than me, also a nerd of Irish heritage) and found that she had never heard of it, either.

I imagine that people receiving a normal education in Ireland – and perhaps in the UK as well – get at least a quick run-through of this episode at some point. You all can start at the beginning.

(Starting at the end leads straight to some spoilers, of course, but since the book centers around a pair of 1882 murders which are adequately documented in many places on the internet, I feel that I can reveal some of the story below without annoying those in search of nail-biting suspense.)

In addition, this author's note is much more interesting than many. The author has written two biographies, one of a ballet star and the other of a 19th century courtesan, so you wouldn't necessarily expect to find her writing next about a pack of Fenian thugs and their English colonial overlords. But she was inspired when she found, in the papers of her late father, a decades-old load of laborious, hand-written, pre-internet research on this episode, which became the kernel of this book.

Reading the author's note first also provides a summary of what goes on in the previous 356 pages, which I found handy as I tend to read books in the spare minutes over lunch or before sleeping, sometimes without giving my full attention, so I might have gotten a little lost in the thicket of fairly similar-sounding English and Irish names.

The author defies what I consider to be a narrative structure which has been used so often in popular history books that it has become something of a cliché. In this structure, the author starts the first chapter in the moments before the most dramatic event, that is, the one referred to the book's title. An author employing this type of structure might begin a book about this episode like this: “The assassins gathered near Phoenix Park in the early afternoon twilight of May 6, 1882”. Then begins several chapters of backstory, moving from years before toward the moment previewed in the first chapter.

I like books with this start-in-the-middle structure, but I recognize that it has been overused. I like it because it is familiar, like a old blanket. I think that some of the potential audience for this book feel this same. The decision not to use this structure is a courageous decision – although I don't know if it was an intentional choice by the author. In any event, this authorial decision makes it doubly rewarding to read the book-summarizing author's note at the end first, because you start with a better idea of the direction that the book will eventually lead you.

The first five chapters are the backstory, and you learn a lot about Gladstone and Parnell – suited me well, I don't know as much about them as I should. The actual murderers aren't introduced until Chapter Six – again, I thought it an interesting authorial decision to hold off so long. The actual murder takes place in Chapter Eight. The subsequent investigation and trial takes a few more chapters. However, about this time, the observant reader may notice that there is a big fat chuck of the book left, meaning, lots of stuff happens after the trial is over.

It does – there is indeed another murder, followed by investigation, political maneuvering, and another trial. If I had not read the author's note first, this would have been a bit of a surprise but, as I had informed myself already, I understood what I was in for.

As the Long-Suffering Wife will tell you, I am not very big on surprises.

So, in summary, the sort of book which pleases me – one that drags a historic incident, big news at the time but now no longer taught in many places, into the light and gives it an airing out. In addition to moving the author's note to the beginning, I might have also included a “cast of characters” to help the distracted reader, but the lack of these things are not a great drawback, now that we all have the computing power of the world at our fingertips.

I received a free electronic advance review copy of this book from Gross Atlantic Press and Netgalley. Thanks to all for your generosity.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I've heard many times about the Phoenix Park Murders and knew that they set off a chain reaction of violence in Ireland, but the detail in this book was gripping. It's a long book and takes some attention, but I felt rewarded by the time it took. There are many characters and all of the primary ones are given vivid descriptions. Their parts in the events covered in the book are clear and make sense in view of their respective personalities. The story of Parnell and Katharine O'Shea was very detailed and greatly added to what I'd previously known. Likewise with Gladstone, Lord Spencer (ancestor of Princess Diana), the police superintendent, the Invincibles and several others. The author makes very clear the major part played by Irish Americans who contributed an enormous amount of money toward Irish freedom. For anyone with an interest in late nineteenth century Irish history, I highly recommend this beautifully written book.

Julie Kavanagh thoroughly researches, and dramatically captures, the intense and often shockingly violent relationship between England and Ireland over the course of their troubled history. Violence that, more often than not, spilled the blood of farmers and families and commoners rather than soldiers on battlefields.

Tracing that relationship over the course of hundreds of years may seem tedious, but Kavanagh does a masterful job telling the story through the motivations, choices and actions of a variety of colorful characters which makes each turn of events personal and compelling. One of the things that makes this book different is the voice and importance given to 3 key women at the heart of the story. These voices are often marginalized and captured in a lesser light than the male figures who tend to dominate the word count of historical books. Not here. Julie Kavanagh truly tries to humanize and validate the major and minor characters behind these events due to her unique, personal connection to the story. Readers will be pleasantly surprised by the Author's Note at the end of the book which reveals her motivation for writing it.

Eventually, the book blends history with true crime as it focuses on a brutal assassination carried out in one of the most open and public places in the heart of Dublin. But this book is so much more than the retelling of an important historical event. It captures the struggle, character and identity of an entire nation and its people.

Tile: The Irish Assassins
By: Juile Kavanagh
Published By: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: 03 August 2021
Genre: Historical
Review : Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3826040230

This book is about the assassination of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Burke while walking in the Phoenix Park in Dublin on May 6th 1882. It contains several side stories including that of the political relationship between Gladstone and Parnell. The book takes place in several different locations such as Dublin, London, Paris and Cape Town.

This book centers around the themes of colonization and its after affects on the generations that follow. It also looks at terrorism/ civil war and how outside influences can affect the outcome of these situations.

I enjoyed parts of this book, such as the history and information I learned. Unfortunately in some parts I felt puled out of the book with so much chop and change, I did not understand why someone would put quotes from Churchill in a book about Irish history with the atrocities he condoned. I found that the authors writing did not flow very well and the book seemed slow paced to begin with put picked up some after the assassination.