The Irish Princess
Aoife MacMurchada is just 14 years old when her father Diarmait, King of Leinster, is brutally deposed, and her family is forced to flee Southern Ireland into English exile. Diarmait seeks help from King Henry II, an alliance that leads him to the charismatic Richard de Clare, lord of Striguil, a man dissatisfied with his lot and open to new horizons.
Diarmait promises Richard wealth, lands, and Aoife’s hand in marriage in return for his aid, but Aoife, has her own thoughts on the matter. She may be a prize, but she is not a pawn and she will play the game to her own advantage.
From the royal halls of scheming kings, to staunch Welsh border fortresses and across storm-tossed seas to the wild green kingdoms of Ireland, The Irish Princess is a sumptuous, journey of ambition and desire, love and loss, heartbreak and survival.
Reference works consulted while writing The Irish Princess
Here is a list of research works I found useful. Some, even while being excellent in places, needed large pinches of salt in others and the accuracy was not always spot on. The biography of Diarmait MachMurchada for example, cites Richard de Clare as being 20 years older than he actually was and emphasises the detail several times, but on its core subject, Diarmait, is generally good. Gerald of Wales is very pro members of his own family and less enthusiastic about the de Clares but gives a colourful overview. He should also be regarded as biased in his treatment of the native Irish.
Ayton, The Rev. W. Court, Household and Itinerary of Henry II (Taylor & co 1878)
Barnard, Francis Pierrepont, Strongbow’s Conquest of Ireland (G.P. Putnam’s Sons 1888)
Davies, R.R. Domination and Conquest: The experience of Ireland, Scotland and Wales 1100-1300 (Cambridge University Press) 1990
Davis, Paul. R. Three Chevrons Red: The Clares: A Marcher Dynasty in Wales, England and Ireland (Logaston Press 2013) ISBN 9781906663803
Dooley, Ann and Roe, Harry, Tales of the Elders of Ireland: A new translation of Acallam na Senórach (Oxford World’s Classics).
Flanagan, Marie Therese, Irish Society, Anglo Norman Settlers, Angevin Kingship: Interactions in Ireland in the late 12th century (Clarendon Press Oxford 1989,) ISBN 9780198221548
Furlong, Nicholas, Diarmait King of Leinster (Mercier 2006) ISBN 9781856355056
Gerald of Wales The History and Topography of Ireland (Penguin History 1982) ISBN 9780140444230
Kostick, Conor, Strongbow: The Norman Invasion of Ireland (O’Brien 2013) ISBN 9781847172006
Orpen, Goddard Henry The song of Dermot and the Earl: from the Carew Manuscript number 596 in the Archieopiscopal library at Lambeth Palace (Clarendon Press at Oxford 1892).
Remfry, Paul Martin, Goodrich Castle and the families of Godric Mapson, Monmouth, Clare, Marshall, Montchesney, Valence, Despenser and Talbot (Castle Studies Research and Publishing 2015) ISBN 9781899376926
Roche, Richard, The Norman Invasion of Ireland (Anvil 1995,) ISBN 9780947962814
“Chadwick has excelled herself. This terrific novel is packed with action, emotion, politics and passion”
Sunday Express on The Irish Princess
“With no doubt at all, this will be a fierce contender for my top novel of 2019. Absolutely, utterly engrossing and full of life, albeit life that lived over 800 years ago. A truly wonderful novel”
Kate Atherton, book blogger and reviewer for The Sunday Express.
“Elizabeth Chadwick is another excellent chronicler of royal intrigue…this is a fascinating account of Aoife’s life.”
Antonia Senior in The Times roundup of best historical fiction.