UNITED KINGDOM AUTHOR · FICTION · HISTORY
Conn Iggulden
Also known as: C. Iggulden, Iggulden, C.
Connor Iggulden (; born (1971-02-24)24 February 1971) is a British author who writes historical fiction, most notably the Emperor and Conqueror series. He has also co-authored the nonfiction book The Dangerous Book for Boys with his brother Hal, describing various games and activities for children. In 2007, Iggulden became the first person to top the UK fiction and nonfiction lists at the same time.
I recall with utter clarity the first great shock of my life.
— from Trinity
Most acclaimed
Trinity
The book tells the story of the intertwining lives of the following families: the Larkins and O'Neills, Catholic hill farmers from the fictional town of Ballyutogue in County Donegal; the Macleods, Protestant shipyard workers from Belfast; and the Hubbles. The book describes a number of historical events; from the Great Famine up until the Easter Rising in 1916. Amidst the ancient Irish Catholic mourning process for his grandfather Kilty, 12-year-old Conor Larkin has a vision of the town storyteller, who tells him of the history of the Fenians, an early 19th century rebel group. This stirs the fire of rebellion in Conor, and sets him onto the path for freedom for his Irish people. Conor's best friend Seamus O'Neill begins school in town under a Protestant named Mr. Ingram. Conor, needed at home, helps his father in the fields, until he becomes an apprentice at a blacksmith shop. As the years pass, the boys become friends with Mr. Ingram, who teaches them of the power of books and the history of their Irish forefathers. Seamus goes to college in Belfast, and Conor heads to Derry. In Bogside Conor witnesses the extent of the disaster that has befallen the Irish people. Bogside is in tatters and a state of despair that has stricken its inhabitants since before the Great Famine that had occurred between 1845 and 1852. Held down by the Protestant reign in Derry's labor unions, the Catholics are dying slowly without hope. In Derry, Conor discovers other like-minded Irish tired of the oppression of the Catholics by the British and Protestants. This small group, with the support of the few Irish politicians, becomes the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the roots of Sinn Féin, and the whisper of freedom throughout Ireland.
EMPIRE!
"How did a barren, thinly populated country, somewhat isolated from the rest of Europe, establish itself as the world's first superpower? Henry Kamen's impressive new book offers a fresh and highly original answer. Empire is a global survey of the two and a half centuries, from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth, in which the Spaniards established the most extensive empire the world had ever known, ranging from Naples and the Netherlands to the Philippines. Unlike previous accounts, which have presented the empire as a direct consequence of Spanish power, this provocative work of history emphasizes the inability of Spain to run an imperial enterprise by itself. The role of conquest was deceptive. Spain's rise to power was actually made possible by the collaboration of international business interests, including Italian financiers, German technicians and Dutch traders, in the task of setting up networks of contact ranging across the oceans. At the height of its apparent power, the Spanish empire was in reality a global enterprise in which non-Spaniards-Portuguese, Basque, Aztec, Genoese, Chinese, Flemish, West African, Incan and Neapolitan-played an essential role. It is this vast diversity of resources and people, which included many of its greatest adventurers and soldiers, that made Spain's power so overwhelming. There is no better account in English of this time. Henry Kamen's book provides a highly relevant analysis of the origins and nature of imperial power, and of global economic activity. Challenging, persuasive and unique in its thesis, Empire explores Spain's complex impact on world history with admirable clarity and intelligence."--Jacket.