Edward Rutherfurd
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Edward Rutherfurd |
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Edward Rutherfurd was born in England, in the cathedral city of Salisbury. Educated locally, and at the universities of Cambridge, and Stanford, California, he worked in political research, bookselling and publishing. After numerous attempts to write books and plays, he finally abandoned his career in the book trade in 1983, and returned to his childhood home to write Sarum, a historical novel with a ten-thousand year story, set in the area around the ancient monument of Stonehenge, and Salisbury. Four years later, when the book was published, it became an instant international bestseller, remaining 23 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. Since then he has written five more bestsellers: Russka, a novel of Russia; London; The Forest, set in England's New Forest which lies close by Sarum, and two novels , The Princes of Ireland ( Dublin Foundation ) and The Rebels of Ireland ( Ireland Awakening ) ,which cover the story of Ireland from the time just before Saint Patrick to the twentieth century. His books have been translated into twenty languages. Rutherfurd settled near Dublin, Ireland in the early 1990s, but currently divides his time between Europe and North America. [1]
Rutherfurd’s novels chronicle the history of settlements through their development up to modern day, mixing fictional characters and families with real people and events – a kind of historical fiction pioneered by James Michener.
Style
Known as a James Michener disciple,[2] Rutherfurd invents four to six fictional families and tells the stories of their descendants. Using this framework, he weaves them in and out of historical situations, having them interact not only with each other, but also with significant historical figures. As a result, his books serve an educational purpose.
Format
Rutherfurd's novels are generally at least 500 pages and sometimes even over 1,000. Divided into a number of parts, each chapter represents a different era in the area of the novel's history. There is always an extensive family tree in the introduction, and each generational line matches with the corresponding chapters.
Bibliography : US & Canada / UK & Rest of World
| Cover | Title | Year | ISBN |
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| File:US SARUM BOOK COVER.jpg | Sarum (US & CANADA) | 1987 | ISBN 0449000729 (US paperback) |
| File:Sarum.jpg | Sarum (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 1987 | ISBN 0099527308 (UK paperback) |
Laterly retitled Sarum: The Novel of England
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| File:US RUSSKA BOOK COVER.JPG | Russka: the Novel of Russia (US & CANADA) | 1991 | ISBN 0345479351 (US paperback) |
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| File:Russka.jpg | Russka: the Novel of Russia (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 1991 | ISBN 0099635208 (UK paperback) |
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| File:US BOOK COVER LONDON.jpg | London (US & CANADA) | 1997 | ISBN 0345455681 (US paperback) |
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| File:Edwardrutherfurd london.jpg | London (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 1997 | ISBN 0099201917 (UK paperback) |
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| File:US BOOK COVER THE FOREST.jpg | The Forest (US & CANADA) | 2000 | ISBN 0345441788 (US paperback) |
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| File:Edwardrutherfurd the forest.jpg | The Forest (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 2000 | ISBN 009927907X (UK paperback) |
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| File:US BOOK COVER PRINCES OF IRELAND.jpg | The Princes of Ireland: The Dublin Saga (US & CANADA) | 2004 | ISBN 0345472357 (US paperback) |
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Dublin: Foundation (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 2004 | ISBN 0712680004 (UK paperback) |
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| File:US BOOK COVER REBELS OF IRELAND.jpg | The Rebels of Ireland: The Dublin Saga (US & CANADA) | 2006 | ISBN 0345472365 (US paperback) |
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| File:Ireland awakening.jpg | Ireland: Awakening (UK & REST OF WORLD) | 2006 | ISBN 1844138127 (UK paperback) |
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Notes
- ^ Edward Rutherfurd Official Website; See also: "A Tale of Ireland Forever, or at Least 1,100 Years" , [1],Mel Gussow, 4/28/2004,New York Times
- ^ Quilligan,Maureen, "Older Than Texas,Bigger Than Israel", New York Times Book Review, 9/13/1987; See also: Lehmann-Haupt,Christopher,"London:Greed,Lust and Glory on the Thames" , [2],New York Times,8/7/1997
External links
- "Crafter of the epic narrative", interview, ContraCostaTimes.com 9 May 2004
- Edward Rutherfurd's Official site