Eleanor, Countess of Desmond, c. 1545-1638 / Anne Chambers.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chambers, Anne.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Desmond, Eleanor Fitzgerald, Countess of, approximately 1545-1638.

Desmond, Eleanor Fitzgerald.

Nobility--Ireland--Biography.

Nobility.

Ireland.

Ireland--History--1558-1603.

History.

Ireland--History--17th century.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

256 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Dublin : Wolfhound Press, 1986.

Summary:

Eleanor Countess of Desmond -- a truly remarkable woman -- yet, apart from the occasional or passing reference, historians have ignored or forgotten her. A woman of courage and indomitable will, with an almost superhuman capacity to withstand suffering, loss and deprivation, Eleanor was relentless in her pursuit of her own and her husband's interests.

Wife of the rebel fifteenth Earl of Desmond, she became to the armies pursuing them in the Munster hills an obsessive myth, 'object of their fear, hatred and lust; the she-devil ... What self-respecting woman -- and a Countess to boot -- would willingly live like a wild animal in the woods and bogs?'

In this vigorous, moving biography -- shortlisted for the GPA Irish Book Awards -- Anne Chambers writes about the amazing life and ambitions of this extraordinary woman who survived the turbulence of the Elizabethan era in Ireland, outliving both opponents and supporters.

Contents:

1 The Baron's Daughter 13

2 The Feud 33

3 The Lady of Desmond 45

4 Exile 69

5 A Troubled Homecoming 87

6 Diplomacy and Intrigue 103

7 Rebellion 135

8 The Pauper Countess 173

9 The Chatelaine 199

Appendix The 'Old' Countess of Desmond 233.

Notes:

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages 247-250.

ISBN:

0863278159

0863271901 :

OCLC:

16648906