The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845-1948
Penguin
- SKU:
- PEN105
- Availability:
- Usually Ships Within 7 Days
Media: BOOK - paperback, 520 pages
Author: C. Woodham-Smith
Year: (1962) 2009
ISBN: 9780140145151
Other: sketches, index
Publisher: Penguin
The Irish potato famine of the 1840s, perhaps the most appalling event of the Victorian era, killed over a million people and drove many more to emigrate to America. It may not have been the result of deliberate government policy, yet British 'obtuseness, short-sightedness and ignorance' - and stubborn commitment to laissez-faire 'solutions' - largely caused the disaster and prevented any serious efforts to relieve the suffering.
The continuing impact on Anglo-Irish relations was incalculable, the immediate human cost almost inconceivable.
In this vivid and disturbing book Cecil Woodham-Smith provides the definitive account. First published in 1962, this is a true classic, and is now back in print.
Reviews:
'Her just and penetrating mind, her lucid and easy style and her assured command of the sources have produced one of the great works not only of Irish nineteenth-century history, but of nineteenth-century history in general' - Conor Cruise O'Brien
'Mrs Woodham-Smith has made an individual contribution to Irish history. Her thoroughness in research, compassionate fair-mindedness and gift of narrative are all again in evidence' - The Times
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