The population had increased during the period following the rape of Ireland by Cromwell in 1649, to 8 million in 1845. The country had been invaded not once but several times, the land had been conquered and redistributed over and over again, the population had been brought to the verge of extinction – after Cromwell's conquest and settlement only some half million Irish survived - yet an Irish nation still existed, separate, numerous and hostile. The first paragraph sets the tone:Īt the beginning of 1845, the state of Ireland was as it had been for nearly seven hundred years, a source of grave anxiety to England. Ireland had first been invaded in 1169 it was now 1845 yet she had been neither assimilated nor subdued.

Pages XII, 510 pages.The horror of what is casually referred to as the 'Potato Famine' is meticulously chronicled in the superb and immensely readable 'The Great Hunger: Ireland 1845-1849', by Cecil Woodham-Smith.This hardback American edition is now out of print. Woodham-Smith focuses on the tragedy in Ireland and the effect it had in America and Canada where many of the emigrants headed. This book is widely regarded as the classic account of the disaster. The Story of the Potato Famine of the 1840's which killed one million Irish peasants and sent hundreds of thousands to the new world. The illustrations in this publication include for example: Portrait of Sir Robert Peel / Portrait of Daniel O'Connell / Portrait of Sir Charles Trevelyan/ Portrait of Sir Charles Wood (Later 1st Viscount Halifax of Monk Bretton) / Famine Funeral at Skibbereen / The Central Soup Depot in Cork / A 'Scalpeen' at Dunmore / Portrait of Thomas Spring-Rice (1st Baron Monteagle) / An Eviction / After the Eviction / Portrait of George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon / Portrait of William Smith O'Brien / Portrait of James Hack Tuke / Queen Victoria's Drawing-Room at the Castle, Dublin / Starving Children / The Queen's Departure / With two Appendice - Biographical accounts of Sir Charles Trevelyan / Sir Charles Wood / William Smith O'Brien / Including a very thorough chpater of references. The original dustjacket frayed but the Volume in very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Original Hardcover with dustjacket in protective Mylar. With 19 illustrations and a map of Ireland in the 1840's, showing most of the places named in the book.

The Great Hunger by Cecil Woodham-Smith