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Dark Rosaleen
Love, death, and politics in a time of great famine and hardship in IrelandThis is a novel based on the true story of the Great Famine in Ireland of 1840s. Historically accurate, it is a story of murder and betrayal, of a failed rebellion, and the love of a national scandal. Charles Trevelyan was Secretary of the Treasury, and Director of the Famine Relief Programme at a time when famine raged and antipathy in English politics towards the plight of those affected raged equally. Kathryn, Charles' daughter, likewise felt no sympathy until the very scale of the tragedy became apparent. Joining the underground, she preached insurrection, stole food for the starving, and became the lover of the leader of the rebellion. She became known as Dark Rosaleen, the heroine of banned nationalist poem, was branded as both traitor and cause celebré. This is her story.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2015
32 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Michael Nicholson
72 books4 followersMichael Nicholson OBE (born 9 January 1937) is an English journalist and former ITN Senior Foreign Correspondent.
Born in Romford, Essex, Nicholson attended the University of Leicester and is one of the world's most decorated and longest serving British television correspondents. Nicholson joined ITV in 1964 and over the ensuing forty years he reported from 18 war zones: Biafra, Israel, Vietnam, Cambodia, Congo, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Indo-Pakistan, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, the Gulf Wars, 'Desert Storm' 1991 and 'Shock and Awe,' Baghdad 2003.
During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974, Nicholson's car broke down just as Turkish paratroopers were landing over his head onto the island . Nicholson walked up to the first of them and greeted them with 'I'm Michael Nicholson. Welcome to Cyprus'. His film was flown back to London on an RAF plane and made the Evening News the next day. A world scoop.
Nicholson was ITN’s first bureau chief in South Africa, based in Johannesburg from 1976 to 1981 and the first television correspondent to be allowed to live in apartheid South Africa, a brief covering Africa from Cape Town to the Sahara. During this time Nicholson covered the Soweto riots, spent much time in UDI Rhodesia covering the war of independence and was the first foreign journalist to interview Robert Mugabe on his release from prison.
In 1978 he and his cameraman Tom Phillips and sound recordist Micky Doyle, were in Angola to interview the UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. Pursued by Cuban mercaneries working for the communist MPLA government, they were trapped and spent for four and a half months in the bush, walking a total of 1,500 miles, trying to escape. They were eventually airlifted out in a dramatic escape.
In 1981 he returned to England, motoring overland through Africa and Europe with his wife Diana and two small sons, Tom and William, a six month journey of some twelve thousand miles, recorded in the book 'Across the Limpopo'.
Nicholson was on holiday in the Lake District when the Falklands War began. Flown by a chartered aircraft to Southampton he boarded the aircraft carrier 'HMS Hermes' for the six week journey to the South Atlantic. At 45 years old, Nicholson was more experienced than all his journalistic colleagues: "But this was the first war, other than Northern Ireland, where I was among my own people. It made it a very special war and the Falklands a very special place." Nicholson and BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan (on his first major foreign story)were regularly flown over to the Royal Fleet auxiliary ships to broadcast their phoned reports, as broadcasting from Royal Navy ships was forbidden. After the conflict, Nicholson was awarded the South Atlantic Medal
Born in Romford, Essex, Nicholson attended the University of Leicester and is one of the world's most decorated and longest serving British television correspondents. Nicholson joined ITV in 1964 and over the ensuing forty years he reported from 18 war zones: Biafra, Israel, Vietnam, Cambodia, Congo, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Rwanda, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, Indo-Pakistan, Northern Ireland, Falklands, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, the Gulf Wars, 'Desert Storm' 1991 and 'Shock and Awe,' Baghdad 2003.
During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974, Nicholson's car broke down just as Turkish paratroopers were landing over his head onto the island . Nicholson walked up to the first of them and greeted them with 'I'm Michael Nicholson. Welcome to Cyprus'. His film was flown back to London on an RAF plane and made the Evening News the next day. A world scoop.
Nicholson was ITN’s first bureau chief in South Africa, based in Johannesburg from 1976 to 1981 and the first television correspondent to be allowed to live in apartheid South Africa, a brief covering Africa from Cape Town to the Sahara. During this time Nicholson covered the Soweto riots, spent much time in UDI Rhodesia covering the war of independence and was the first foreign journalist to interview Robert Mugabe on his release from prison.
In 1978 he and his cameraman Tom Phillips and sound recordist Micky Doyle, were in Angola to interview the UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi. Pursued by Cuban mercaneries working for the communist MPLA government, they were trapped and spent for four and a half months in the bush, walking a total of 1,500 miles, trying to escape. They were eventually airlifted out in a dramatic escape.
In 1981 he returned to England, motoring overland through Africa and Europe with his wife Diana and two small sons, Tom and William, a six month journey of some twelve thousand miles, recorded in the book 'Across the Limpopo'.
Nicholson was on holiday in the Lake District when the Falklands War began. Flown by a chartered aircraft to Southampton he boarded the aircraft carrier 'HMS Hermes' for the six week journey to the South Atlantic. At 45 years old, Nicholson was more experienced than all his journalistic colleagues: "But this was the first war, other than Northern Ireland, where I was among my own people. It made it a very special war and the Falklands a very special place." Nicholson and BBC journalist Brian Hanrahan (on his first major foreign story)were regularly flown over to the Royal Fleet auxiliary ships to broadcast their phoned reports, as broadcasting from Royal Navy ships was forbidden. After the conflict, Nicholson was awarded the South Atlantic Medal
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 25, 2019
A bit of a disappointment. The story was an interesting one- especially set against the Great Hunger. A better editor would have come in handy. Two or three times in the book there are incomplete sentences and the plot was rather predictable. A good movie could be made from the book but it would be more convincing if the heroine were Irish.
February 7, 2016
"Dark Rosaleen" takes place during the years of the Irish famine. Charles Trevelyan, an evil man if there ever was one, enforced the British systemic genocide of the Irish people. All the years that the potato crop failed, Ireland produced an abundance of other foods. These crops were exported as the people were allowed to starve to death. Diseases followed. Of course, there was a mass migration from Ireland to North America, too.
Kate Macauley is the daughter of Sir William Macaulay and she is meant to be a prim and proper lady of the aristocracy. But, Kate is neither blind nor heartless. She sees the devastation of the people around her. Her fate takes her away from the British and puts her on a different path, entirely.
This book is a work of historical fiction. The descriptions of the horrors of the famine are real and heart-breaking. I am of Irish descent and it made me wonder about what my ancestors had to endure. I surely understand what made them come to the United States.
Kate Macauley is the daughter of Sir William Macaulay and she is meant to be a prim and proper lady of the aristocracy. But, Kate is neither blind nor heartless. She sees the devastation of the people around her. Her fate takes her away from the British and puts her on a different path, entirely.
This book is a work of historical fiction. The descriptions of the horrors of the famine are real and heart-breaking. I am of Irish descent and it made me wonder about what my ancestors had to endure. I surely understand what made them come to the United States.
April 10, 2016
The research and material matter for this book is so absolutely perfect, all the tools are there. The writing style was the fail for me. It read like cliff notes. I didn't get to see any details of the characters life, only snap shots. It left me uninterested in material that I adore. I want to attach to a character and go through their days with them.
February 20, 2019
I really liked this book, the story was gripping, infuriating and emotional and right up my alley. I read it within a day, and it gave me a new understanding on a part of history that I had heard about but didn't really know a lot about.
I do have to say that the change in Kate was too sudden, it only took maybe a chapter for the young naive and egocentrical girl that only cared about herself to change in what she became. Yes 6 months pass, but you don't see the change, just all of the sudden it's there. I also found it strange that the well bred english girl was allowed to wander the countryside. All in all I think the book would have benefitted from a couple more pages, especially in the end as well. I would have liked to read a bit more about them settling in America and maybe reuniting with Una and her guy (forgot his name), and finishing the story on the findings of the doctor that the sickness was caused by lice and not what was previously thought.
All in all, I still really liked the book and I would recommened it to anyone interested in learning a bit more about Ireland and the hardships they went through. 3.5 stars.
I do have to say that the change in Kate was too sudden, it only took maybe a chapter for the young naive and egocentrical girl that only cared about herself to change in what she became. Yes 6 months pass, but you don't see the change, just all of the sudden it's there. I also found it strange that the well bred english girl was allowed to wander the countryside. All in all I think the book would have benefitted from a couple more pages, especially in the end as well. I would have liked to read a bit more about them settling in America and maybe reuniting with Una and her guy (forgot his name), and finishing the story on the findings of the doctor that the sickness was caused by lice and not what was previously thought.
All in all, I still really liked the book and I would recommened it to anyone interested in learning a bit more about Ireland and the hardships they went through. 3.5 stars.
August 29, 2021
I just finished reading this book. It is a narrative fiction based on actual events and people. It was brutal but certainly gives an insight into what life in Ireland was like around the time of the famine.
What made this so real is that my 2x GGrandmother came from Tipperary and lost her parent/s to the famine.
She came out to Australia as a famine orphan.
Tipperary is where some of the book was set and was a particularly hard hit area in terms of English landlord brutality.
I had other ancestors who came from County Clare and were also born just prior to the famine and migrated to Australia.
What made this so real is that my 2x GGrandmother came from Tipperary and lost her parent/s to the famine.
She came out to Australia as a famine orphan.
Tipperary is where some of the book was set and was a particularly hard hit area in terms of English landlord brutality.
I had other ancestors who came from County Clare and were also born just prior to the famine and migrated to Australia.
December 30, 2021
I enjoyed (if that's the right word for a story that is utterly tragic) this one. In parts it's a little flowery, but that aside, it's well worth reading.
Interestingly, the author apparently set out to show that the British were NOT responsible for any part of the tragedy of the Irish holocaust, but once he started his research he came to the inescapable conclusion that they (the British, that is) were very clearly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been avoided.
It's not pleasant reading, but it is very well written, and hard to put down.
Interestingly, the author apparently set out to show that the British were NOT responsible for any part of the tragedy of the Irish holocaust, but once he started his research he came to the inescapable conclusion that they (the British, that is) were very clearly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been avoided.
It's not pleasant reading, but it is very well written, and hard to put down.
October 18, 2020
This was like reading a Maeve Binchy novel. It's a cute story of how an Englishwoman finds her true love, even if the backdrop is the Irish Famine.
That's the reason why I bought it, to find out more about the famine. There certainly is some facts and horrific images within the prose and for that I was thankful.
I also sensed a slight hatred of the Church and religion within this book. It's like he was writing a book through a modern lens of dislike for all things Catholic or religious.
That's the reason why I bought it, to find out more about the famine. There certainly is some facts and horrific images within the prose and for that I was thankful.
I also sensed a slight hatred of the Church and religion within this book. It's like he was writing a book through a modern lens of dislike for all things Catholic or religious.
July 20, 2018
If you want to read a vivid account of the Irish famine, an event that still haunts the country, this book presents it in all its cruelties. This is not a neutral account, and I don’t believe it should be. I recommend it to anyone traveling to Ireland to get a picture of this brutal past that is not yet past, and may never be.
November 17, 2018
This took me four months to read. Partially because it wasn’t that good but mostly because I went and had a baby in the middle of it all did I! Documents (loosely) the horrors the Irish suffered at the hands of the English, intertwined with a lacklustre love story.
May 30, 2020
Had asked one of my dear friends that I wanted to read a novel with the Great Hunger as the background to understand the trials and tribulations of that period. I couldn't have read anything better. Excellent unput-downable read.
August 22, 2021
Heart rending treatment of Ireland by the English illustrsting their oppression of the Irish during the famine.
August 14, 2022
njoyed reading this book it's about the potato famine in Ireland Fact mixed with fiction and a love story too.
March 7, 2017
I really liked and appreciated the first half--or more--of this book, despite the fact that it occasionally dropped out of the story to insert information (important and relevant though they were). However, I found that the story lost credibility when the heroine joined the rebels. There was a lack of detail and personal connection and motivation for much that followed.
March 3, 2017
Good lord. I had a hard time getting through the first half of this book because the historical details are just *so* brutal, but it was worth it in the end. Haunting, infuriating, and, ultimately, up lifting.
Want to read
February 12, 201712 FEB 2017 - how can I not want to read a book which shares the same name as my Mother? Rosaleen - such a beautiful name.
June 17, 2016
I give this book four stars for the writing and the history. However, it was not what I expected. The story was a bit disjointed, jumping around with different characters. I wish the author had picked an Irish family suffering through the famine from start to finish, along with the 'awakening' of the Englishwoman Kate who joins their cause. I wanted to connect with a character or two throughout the story, see the blight through their eyes, but that didn't happen.
The problem is the 'history,' though interesting, was mostly 'told' instead of 'shown.' I felt kept at a distance.
I did learn a lot about the cause of the potato blight and why the Irish depended on this one crop.
The problem is the 'history,' though interesting, was mostly 'told' instead of 'shown.' I felt kept at a distance.
I did learn a lot about the cause of the potato blight and why the Irish depended on this one crop.
January 13, 2016
Well written, stark, and disturbing. This book will keep you up at night.
January 1, 2016
Excellent book detailing the English response to the Irish potato blight which was nothing less than criminal.
June 6, 2016
Didn't love it; didn't hate it. Historical novels about Ireland start to feel the same after awhile and this fell into a predictable rhythm.
October 12, 2016
Opened my eyes to the exploitation of Ireland by England ....and that's putting it mildly!
November 24, 2017
My kind of book. Fiction mixed with fact. I learned a lot about the potato famine, and I'm glad I did. It makes it easier to see why troubles in Ireland carry on. The characters who were complicit in the deaths of thousands of Irish could be described in the same way in stories around the world and in different wars today. The world learns nothing and the aggrieved don't forget.
Perhaps not the best written fiction, but thought provoking.
Perhaps not the best written fiction, but thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews