Two boys are growing up in County Kerry, Irish Tomas Sullivan and Anglo-Irish John Burke, close friends from different tribes. This is Ireland in 1919, and their friendship will be torn apart in the War of Independence and in the Civil War that follows.
The entwined fates of the Burkes and the Sullivans are played out over three generations, in Kerry, Spain, Northumberland, Mount Athos and finally back in Kerry, where the two families meet again.
Subtle, gripping, beautifully written, ashes In The Wind is rooted in the history of Christopher Bland's own Anglo-Irish family, and brings to vivid life the people and places of 20th-century Ireland in a story of love, violence and redemption.
Head of Zeus * Saga
11 Sep 2014 * 416pp * £5.99 * 9781781859322
REVIEWS
'A convincing and exciting page-turner'
Irish Independent
'[A] superbly written saga of Ireland's bloody struggle... Bland's writing is lyrical and often beautifully descriptive'
The Times
Exciting, poignant and ultimately consoling debut novel... fluently readable, sturdy and elegant prose of almost superhuman fairness'
Spectator
'Ambitious and engaging'
Mail on Sunday
An epic novel. A vivid testament to the power that the traditional form still has... It is extraordinarily gripping and moving'
Melvyn Bragg, New Statesman
'Captured the atmosphere of those ruined Ascendancy houses and the menacing gentleness of the Irish villages and countryside absolutely beautifully'
Robert Harris
'A really striking first novel with a strong narrative that's actually about something'
Richard Eyre
'A compelling narrative'
The Racing Post
'An ambitious and enjoyable debut'
The Sunday Times
Author
Christopher Bland is a former Chairman of the BBC, BT and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is Anglo-Irish and married with a son and four stepchildren. His first novel, ASHES IN THE WIND, was published by Head of Zeus in 2014.
ALSO BY Christopher Bland
OTHER BOOKS YOU MIGHT LIKE
