Rating: 
Summary: "1916" is a must for Irish history buffs.
Review: From the sinking of the Titanic to the bloody climax of the Irish rebellion, Morgan Llywelyn,gives an up close account of events leading up to the Easter Uprising. "1916" gives a historical account of the rebellion through the eyes of a fictional character, up to par, and much in the same way as James Michner does in his historical novels such as "Hawaii." For people who like a good story I would give "1916" an eight, for history fans a ten.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost good history in a trashy novel
Review: I am not as familiar with Irish history as other readers of the book and I was looking forward to learning a great deal. I worked hard to pick out the history between the unfaithful wife, the priest, the prostitute, etc. Why did Morgan insist on writing it this way? Was it to pander to the masses? If so -- and that's OK -- why bother being in the historical fiction section. why not just go for the steamy romance section of the grocery store?
Rating:
Summary: A history lesson that goes down easy
Review: I enjoyed this novel very much, and not only because of its strong characters and riveting plot. Morgan Llywelyn entertains while she teaches, and I learned a great deal about Irish history and the fundamental reasons for the fractious state of affairs that exist today in the north. After reading 1916, I went on to read the other two books in Llywelyn's series, 1921 and 1949. Readers who enjoy 1916 are likely to enjoy the other two books as well.
Rating:
Summary: A history lesson that goes down easy
Review: I enjoyed this novel very much, and not only because of its strong characters and riveting plot. Morgan Llywelyn entertains while she teaches, and I learned a great deal about Irish history and the fundamental reasons for the fractious state of affairs that exist today in the north. After reading 1916, I went on to read the other two books in Llywelyn's series, 1921 and 1949. Readers who enjoy 1916 are likely to enjoy the other two books as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Rising Needs no Embellishment
Review: I had high expectations when I bought this book. I had heard good things about Morgan and was excited about reading something about the Rising that added some drama, unlike the strickly factual interpretations I have read in the past. What I learned from reading 1916 however, is that the Easter Rebellion needs no dramatization or embellishment. The Titanic, a broken priest, a prositute heroine, are things that simply detract from what is one of the more telling stories of modern times. The book wasn't completely without merit. The truths it did decide to deal with, it dealt with accurately.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent and well worth reading....
Review: I have read several of Ms. Llywelyn's books and this is far and away the best. It accuratly conveys the increasing tension between the British and the Irish of the early years of the 20th, and the brilliant Patrick (Padrig) Pease who was one of the organizers of the "Rising of '16" All the "leading lights" of the Irish independence movement are here: Sheedy-Skeffington, "The O'Rahilly", Conolly, William Pease (Patrick's younger brother),Plunkett and all the others who gave their lives for Ireland's freedom. Allof this is seen through the eyes of young Ned Halloran, one of Pease's students. Ned of course becomes heavily involved in the rising and witness severalof the pivotal events. A good bit of research has been done for this book as any reading of a non-fiction book dealing the Rising will show. The Easter Rising in Dublin was "Ireland's Alamo" and Ms. Llywelyn's excellent novel conveys the dedication of the brave men and women who were willing to take on the mightiest empire on earth to free their country and make it a nation....
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: I knew of this rebellion and thought to gain little from this book but a good read, as I have enjoyed this author's books before. However, I was enlightened as to perspective. My family is Irish and I can assure you that Celtic children often have insights that most adults of other nationalities lack. Even the Irish hounds have insights into character that most human adults lack. I think everyone should read this book. There is too much mis-information out there about this historic fight.
Rating: 
Summary: Ireland's Great Historian Misses Her Stride
Review: I love Morgan Llywelyn's books. I was so excited to see this novel published that I recommended it to my book club before I read it. None of my fellow book club readers were familiar with her work, so I jumped at the opportunity to introduce them to this marvelous writer. Over the ensuing weeks, one by one, my fellow readers asked me, "Are all of her books like this?" I had not started it yet, and was mystified at the lukewarm reception the book seemed to be getting. Once I read it myself, I was not puzzled for long.Llywelyn's research is meticulous, as usual, but her telling of the story is stilted and her fictional characters have none of the complexity or depth of her other books. Perhaps because she was writing about people who lived so recently, and not people are lived centuries ago and are more legend than fact, she felt less at liberty to intersperse her fictional characters into the thick of the action. They seemed to be content to stay on the periphery, only arriving in the thick of the action by happenstance and not to fulfill their destinies. Granted, the events of Easter 1916 are well documented, but one expects more literary license to be taken by one's favorite historical novelists. And this is probably my mistake, not hers. I expected Lion of Ireland but instead found myself reading what I felt were a series of notes on the rebellion, interspersed with a fictional romance. My fellow readers and I never understood why the Titanic was involved, except perhaps to make the lead characters more sympathetic. My words here seem to convey that we hated the book. We didn't. It was a very good exploration of the politics and social crises of the time, and we all loved Padraic Pearse. The knowledge she gives us of this courageous, passionate man is alone worth the price of the hardcover edition. Her examination of the Irish Question is spectacular. What kept this book from rating five stars was the incidental plot line involving her fictional characters. Had she left out the fictional Hallorans entirely the book would have been improved. We did not find ourselves yearning to see the next chapter about them. We prefered to see Padraic Pearse, the O'Rahilly, or Thomas Clarke in the first lines of a new chapter. We sought out Edmund Kent and Sean MacDermott. We ached for more about the fascinating Countess Constance Markievicz, who by herself would make a wonderful subject of another historical novel about the Irish-English conflict. This is not a typical Morgan Llywelyn novel. It is a good novel, but not a great one. It is the one hiccup of an otherwise, in my opinion, highly exceptional writer. I will not hesitate to buy Morgan Llywellyn's next book in hardback, despite my disappointment with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Ireland's Great Historian Misses Her Stride
Review: I love Morgan Llywelyn's books. I was so excited to see this novel published that I recommended it to my book club before I read it. None of my fellow book club readers were familiar with her work, so I jumped at the opportunity to introduce them to this marvelous writer. Over the ensuing weeks, one by one, my fellow readers asked me, "Are all of her books like this?" I had not started it yet, and was mystified at the lukewarm reception the book seemed to be getting. Once I read it myself, I was not puzzled for long. Llywelyn's research is meticulous, as usual, but her telling of the story is stilted and her fictional characters have none of the complexity or depth of her other books. Perhaps because she was writing about people who lived so recently, and not people are lived centuries ago and are more legend than fact, she felt less at liberty to intersperse her fictional characters into the thick of the action. They seemed to be content to stay on the periphery, only arriving in the thick of the action by happenstance and not to fulfill their destinies. Granted, the events of Easter 1916 are well documented, but one expects more literary license to be taken by one's favorite historical novelists. And this is probably my mistake, not hers. I expected Lion of Ireland but instead found myself reading what I felt were a series of notes on the rebellion, interspersed with a fictional romance. My fellow readers and I never understood why the Titanic was involved, except perhaps to make the lead characters more sympathetic. My words here seem to convey that we hated the book. We didn't. It was a very good exploration of the politics and social crises of the time, and we all loved Padraic Pearse. The knowledge she gives us of this courageous, passionate man is alone worth the price of the hardcover edition. Her examination of the Irish Question is spectacular. What kept this book from rating five stars was the incidental plot line involving her fictional characters. Had she left out the fictional Hallorans entirely the book would have been improved. We did not find ourselves yearning to see the next chapter about them. We prefered to see Padraic Pearse, the O'Rahilly, or Thomas Clarke in the first lines of a new chapter. We sought out Edmund Kent and Sean MacDermott. We ached for more about the fascinating Countess Constance Markievicz, who by herself would make a wonderful subject of another historical novel about the Irish-English conflict. This is not a typical Morgan Llywelyn novel. It is a good novel, but not a great one. It is the one hiccup of an otherwise, in my opinion, highly exceptional writer. I will not hesitate to buy Morgan Llywellyn's next book in hardback, despite my disappointment with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Storytelling at its best
Review: I must admit, prior to reading this book, I had no real previous knowledge of the events that had taken place leading up to and during the 1916 Easter rebellion of Dublin. Morgan Llywelyn does an incredible job of weaving fictional characters with those of true historical significance without tainting the integrity of actuality. You learn so much from reading this book and yet you are not force-fed facts like some other historical novels that attempt to educate you rather than entertain you first. I can honestly say that I am unbiased towards Lylwelyn since this is my first experience with her work but I highly recommend this book and should hope to find her other novels as pleasurable to read as I found this one.
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