In the Time of Famine

by Michael Grant

In 1845 a blight of unknown origin destroyed the potato crop in Ireland triggering a series of events that would change forever the course of Ireland’s history. The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country.
With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold.
The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”
In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

Genres: Ireland, Historical Fiction, Historical

428 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.

I am a former member of the NYPD and a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
I live in knoxville TN with my wife, Elizabeth, and our Golden Retriever, Beau.

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad story about Ireland and the starving of millions of Irish by the English government. The potato famine lasted a little over 5 years (it wasn't until 1882 that the reason for the plague was discovered). In the mean time it is estimated that one million Irish were starved to death and over two million had to migrate to the United States or Canada. Five hundred thousand of the Irish "tenant farmers" were driven from homes by English landholders who felt if the farmers couldn't pay the rents, then they didn't deserve to live on the land. The farmers grew potatoes to eat and then worked the lands for the landlords producing products such as wheat and hay. Which feed the cows and sheep that produced the cheeses and the meats that were shipped to England. It was called an act of God by the English government and later it was called the genocide of the Irish.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real life during Ireland’s Potato Famine

Life during the famine (1845-52) from inside one cottage. I loved the depth of the characters, the honest language of the people, and the examples of the landlord’s effect on the local people. So if you’re ready boyo, don’t be an eejit , get a cup of tea and dive in!

[Maggie Conlon-Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry, but I couldn't finish this book. I'd mistakenly thought it was non-fiction; was wanting to read the history of the Irish potato famine. While well written, by about the fourth chapter it started to feel like a romance novel, which isn't my thing.

[Zena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by the Irish Famine and how the horrors of those years changed the course of Ireland's history forever. The first time I learned about the suffering was from my Irish granny who brought us to a museum dedicated to the Famine. I remember the anger and appall I felt for those poor souls, and wondered how on earth such a horrific event could ever have occurred. I still wonder that to this day, and my increased awareness of genocide does nothing to curb that incredulity.

I picked up this book to see what a fictional take on the Famine would look like. While the suffering and brutal abuse of the Irish people are quite accurate, there are shortcomings in the stylisation of the book. Some of the colloquial expressions sound contrived to me, and felt like they were written by an 'outsider looking in' for want of a better expression. I suppose this irked me because of my Irish background, but the constant "Oh Jasus" really did start to get on my nerves. We've got a lot more to our vernacular.

This is on the editors but there were a lot of grammatical errors which are always a nuisance for a reader.

The overall story was interesting, and while the nature of the subject doesn't necessarily make this an 'easy' read, it was quite straightforward in the character and plot development.

[Paula Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical fiction

This book is about the millions of Irish who starved and died during the potato famine. The government decided that the owners of the land needed to be the ones who footed the men working when the potato crops, overnight, ruined from a disease that no one knew how to fight. Men worked building roads to nowhere, dead end roads,bridges and ditches that didn't connect to anything. The landlords eventually went broke funding these projects and were selling their family heirlooms for penny's on the dollar. A very good book that has been researched.

[Kathy Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Special book that all should read

This is such a soul stirring book, I could not put the book down untill I was funished. It was a horrible reminder of man's inhumanity. No one ever had it worst than the Irish working class in the mid 19th century. Over a million people died of starvation. A million more left for America. But the heart of the story was about Micheal and his family. Their stuggle was heart breaking .

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This book was very interesting and informative; also happy and sad at the same time. It's hard to believe that the people of the country of Ireland were treated so bad and England did so little to help them.
I will be recommending this to my uncle, and yes he is Irish. He and his siblings are second generation Americans.

[Lori Deamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

God Bless Ireland

So sad what our ancestors had to endure. This is a history lesson that all Irish descendants should read and pass on to the next generation.

[James McComas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sad, interesting commentary on the potato famine of Ireland woven into a well written novel.

[Sharyl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling

After the first chapter, this book gripped me. Even with the poor editing and occasional clumsy writing, the story and characters shine.

[Tanya O'Shaughnessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story may be fictional but the facts are well documented and you can feel the dispair and hopelessness of the Irish poor during the great hunger.

[Jill Dodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough to read about those devastating times but it is a very well written book with interesting historical details

[Kathy May · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, as well as its sequel, “Manhattan”. Both books are engrossing, educational, and entertaining historical fiction accounts of Irish and American history. I couldn’t put either book down and wish there was another book in this series!

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished this book and it was a great read. Michael Grant did a wonderful research job. It was 1845 and one day in Ireland the farmers woke up to an extreme stench in the air, together with a strange mist. This was the start of the famine because the potatoes were hit with a blight that no one could understand. The main food for the farmers were potatoes. They worked the land for the landlords, had a little land for themselves where they had mud thatched cottages, grew vegetables, wheat and potatoes. When the famine hit they could not eat their own produce because that is what paid their rent. If they couldn't pay their rent their cottage was tumbled (wrecked). The story is about Michael the son of a tenant farmer and his love for Emily the landlord's daughter. Over the years the British Govt. gave very little help to the Irish and this meant over 1 million people perished, 1 million people went to America and Canada. The British Govt. even had the peasants build roads and bridges that went nowhere, just as long as they worked for the pittance they were given. I would recommend this book to everyone as it show you how another nation treats their own. Very sad, harrowing makes you angry
many times over.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had never read or studied about the famine in Ireland when the potato crops were blighted for several years in a row. I vaguely knew that many Irish had immigrated to America when the potato crops failed, but that's about it. This story explains the horrific experiences these tenant farmers went through and the callousness of the English government in dealing with the situation. The government agent in charge of finding solutions to the starvation was ultimately knighted by Queen Victoria, something I found almost unbelievable in light of the fact that he blamed the entire situation on the tenant farmers and thought the death of 1,000,000 Irish was God's way of getting rid of these good-for-nothing "bog trotters". You also learn about the privileged landowners who mostly cared nothing for these poor farmers. Of course, there is a little romance thrown in to keep things interesting, but that aspect of the book seemed pretty contrived to me and somewhat predictable. All-in-all, I think this book is worth reading.

[Tricia Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my research into the Irish famine when writing my own book Aine. It was the first Michael Grant book I had come across. I stayed up until 2 am to finish it as it was impossible to put down. Since then I have read several more of Michael's books - my favorite after this one would be: Back to Venice. Michael is a very approachable and friendly author who is very generous with his advice and help. If you are looking for fiction with a conscience then this is the author for you. Wonderful.

[Janet K. Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical novel

Really well-written historical novel . I don't know how much of this family is historically based but of course all of the background action historical. I especially like the way they switched back and forth from the families day today struggle and the British scientific team that was trying to help against the ridiculously stupid Trevelyan who thought it was fine that all the Irish people died or were forced to leave . Pretty pathetic that the British still consider him worthy of knighthood .

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart Breaking

This was a great book from start to finish. It saddened me to see all the struggles the people endured. You felt like you were there having no food getting sick and seeing people dying all because a disease had infected the potatoes. Also it angered me to see cruel men that had power to force people off their land and close work so no one could earn money. I think i would recommend it anyone who has interest in the famine. It makes one feel grateful that they didn't have to face these trials.

[Rosemary Mccaffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I downloaded this kindle book because of an upcoming trip to Ireland, and it was a wonderful read. I truly knew little about the famine in Ireland before reading this book. It is absolutely unbelievable that over a million Irish tenant farmers and their families starved to death. There are a few errors that the editor missed, but I give it 5 stars anyway. All in all, a great historical novel.

[Mary Carabelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Must Reading for all Irish Americans

An honest story of the the native Irish striving to survive in the midst of a famine and indifference of their landlords. The English, led by the notorious Charles Trevelyan did little to alleviate the suffering and implicated the Irish in their own misfortune

[nancy c · Rating 4 out of 5]

Famine in Ireland

This was a sad but good story of a famine I did not know existed. I do not know how these people kept their faith and just kept going. It makes me appreciate more of what I have

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad...

This wasn't too bad. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't really a love story and it there wasn't enough to history so I'm not sure where it falls. I liked it. I did. The characters were good, but I just didn't LOVE them.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, read it in two days!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would love to see the book continued what happens to Michael and his wife?
Where did they live? etc.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Great deal of information incorporated into a well written fictional account of a horrendous time in Ireland. Well worth reading. I will explore more of Grant's work.

[Mitzi Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed learning about mid 1800s famine in Ireland.

So many of our American roots come from our families who were able to escape this era. We are so blessed that they did.

[Susanmbuckingham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. An extremely compelling memoir of famine times in Ireland. Simply but elegantly written, I couldn't put this down.

[Belinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Could not put it down. Wish it was sold as a paper version