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The Guinnesses
The Guinnesses is the story of a family that turned a small 18th century legacy into a huge 20th century fortune, creating one of the world’s great brands and rising from “trade” into the highest levels of British aristocratic society in the 20th century.
This compelling, racy, epic biography tells how they weaved their way to wealth and social success through often troubled times. It covers their roles in Irish and British politics as well as business and society and the scandals and controversies which sometimes embroiled them, some of which never saw the light of day, like a 19th century sex scandal; others have been long-forgotten, like the murders of four of their employees in the west of Ireland and the financial skulduggery which accompanied their final step into the ranks of the super-rich in the late 19th century.
Full of insights and incidents, it covers a cast of characters - businessmen, politicians, socialites, explorers and eccentrics - from the God-fearing Arthur Guinness to the early death in 1992 of Benjamin Guinness, the last family member to sit on the board of the Guinness company.
This compelling, racy, epic biography tells how they weaved their way to wealth and social success through often troubled times. It covers their roles in Irish and British politics as well as business and society and the scandals and controversies which sometimes embroiled them, some of which never saw the light of day, like a 19th century sex scandal; others have been long-forgotten, like the murders of four of their employees in the west of Ireland and the financial skulduggery which accompanied their final step into the ranks of the super-rich in the late 19th century.
Full of insights and incidents, it covers a cast of characters - businessmen, politicians, socialites, explorers and eccentrics - from the God-fearing Arthur Guinness to the early death in 1992 of Benjamin Guinness, the last family member to sit on the board of the Guinness company.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
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About the author
Joe Joyce
14 books20 followersJoe Joyce is the author of five thrillers: ECHOLAND, ECHOBEAT and ECHOWAVE (spy novels set during the Second World War in neutral Dublin), THE TRIGGER MAN (set during the Irish 'Troubles' in the late 1980s) and OFF THE RECORD (set in the 1970s world of Irish journalism), as well as a history/biography of THE GUINNESSES and a critically acclaimed play,THE TOWER, about James Joyce and Oliver St John Gogarty. He is co-author with Peter Murtagh of THE BOSS, the classic account of Irish politician Charles Haughey in power, and BLIND JUSTICE, about a celebrated miscarriage of justice. He has worked as a journalist for The Irish Times, The Guardian, and Reuters news agency.
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April 1, 2014
The family personal history was far more interesting than how many hogsheads were sold, found tedious some of the info about the brewery. Tiring trying to keep straight all the family connections and monetary information. In saying that though I stuck with it
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