Great Irish Wives :Remarkable Lives from History
Great Irish Wives :Remarkable Lives from History
hardback
Published:
8 September, 2025
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Description
WINNER History Book of the Year, An Post Irish Book Awards.
Throughout history, the stories of women’s lives and work have been overshadowed by those of men.
Wives, especially, disappear, unacknowledged as patrons and champions of their husband’s work, as collaborators, muses, carers and managers of the family domain.
Great Irish Wives shines a spotlight on ten such wives: Matilda Tone, Mary O’Connell, Constance Wilde, Charlotte Shaw, Emily Shackleton, Annette Carson, Sinéad de Valera, Margaret Clarke, George Yeats and Beatrice Behan.
The men in this book are household names, from Wolfe Tone and Daniel O’Connell to Oscar Wilde and Brendan
Behan, and they all have one thing in common: they married women who enabled them to pursue their dreams,
even if that meant courting death or outrage. Nicola Pierce tells the stories of these truly remarkable women.
Prizes
Winner of History Book of the Year 2025 (Ireland)
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781788494779 |
| ISBN10 | 1788494776 |
| Number Of Pages | 288 |
| Item Weight | 588 g |
| Product Dimensions | 155 x 225 x 29 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | O'Brien Press Ltd |
| Format | hardback |
Media Reviews
eye-opening and enriching new book …I find myself galloping through the story and on to the other chapters to inhale more details of these great Irish wives’
-- Clodagh Finn, Irish Examinera fantastic book, beautifully written, great stories
-- RTE Radio's The History Show’s Myles Dunganfascinating reframing of the historical narrative
-- Irish TimesPierce brings their stories to life, proving that history isn't just about famous men sometimes, the women behind them are the true heroines.
-- Irish Farmers JournalWe love!
-- Irish Timesattention grabbing & thoroughly researched. Great Irish Wives: Remarkable Lives from History is fantastic
-- Irish History Bitesizea wonderful, wonderful read
-- Bookline - Liffey Soundnow we know the wives thanks to Nicola Pierce … lovely book ... I recommend it highly’
-- LMFM's Late Lunch with Gerry KellyGoodReads Reviews
Author's Bio
Nicola Pierce published her first book for children, Spirit of the Titanic, to rave reviews and five printings within its first twelve months. City of Fate, her second book, transported the reader deep into the Russian city of Stalingrad during World War II. The novel was shortlisted for the Warwickshire School Library Service Award, 2014. Nicola went on to bring seventeenth-century Ireland vividly to life in Behind the Walls (2015), a rich emotional novel set in the besieged city of Derry in 1689, followed by Kings of the Boyne (2016), a moving and gritty account capturing the Battle of the Boyne (1690), which was shortlisted for the Literacy Association of Ireland (LAI) awards. In 2018 Nicola delved in to the true stories of the passengers, crew and the legacy of the fated ship Titanic, in her illustrated book of the same name. To read more about Nicola, go to her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/NicolaPierce-Author and on Twitter @NicolaPierce3.