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Set in Ireland during the early 12^th century, Daughter of Lir is the story of one woman’s journey through tragedy, survival and triumph and who fought to keep her country from the grasping hand of England’s Henry II. 

Born into a small, close-knit Irish clan, six year old Finola finds herself far from home and handed over to the nuns at Fontevrault Abbey .  They change her name to Boniface and she is raised among them as she prepares to devote her life to God.  But Boniface also craves power and influence and one day it is given to her – she is offered the position as Abbess of Kildare in Ireland.  Although she seems an unlikely choice, there are religious and political reasons for her selection and she accepts.  The Irish seem to accept her because they think she is a foreigner and therefore, won’t play favorites among the feuding clans.

In an attempt to keep the peace, Boniface warns the clans against war and ends up making an enemy of one of the most powerful leaders – Dermot of Leinster.   Determined not to be made a fool of by a meddling nun, Dermot has his revenge on the young abbess – by having her raped in her own chapel and in front of everyone (this is not a spoiler – it’s in the book summary on the back of the book and Norman indicates known (albeit little-known) history.  Humiliated, Boniface withdraws into herself and not knowing what else to do, the abbey sends her back to her family clan.

But when her clan can’t help her, they send her to someone who can – a woman who takes those with battered bodies and fragile souls and teaches them to fend for themselves, to protect themselves and ultimately, to live again.  Using the knowledge she gains as well as the Irish’s generous legal status of women, Finola (now Finn)  makes a new life for herself and a misfit group of friends, establishing an intricate network of informants in an effort to stay one step ahead of Henry FitzEmpress.  Along the way she will experience friendship, love, betrayal and sacrifice.

Daughter of Lir is extremely well written and Norman does an excellent job in giving us the transformation from the broken Boniface to the self confident Finn.  As the clans of Ireland battle each other and try to fend off the English, it is a cycle that will repeat itself and even Dermot will not escape unscathed.  Sadly, in the end, all of Finn’s efforts will be in vain.  Woven throughout the story are the warring clans, the efforts of Rome to fully convert the Irish, the dispute over the kidnapping of the O’Rourke’s wife, Dervorgilla, by Dermot, and the coming of Strongbow.  

Diana Norman also writes under the name Ariana Franklin.  I have read a couple of the “Mistress of the Art of Death” series under the Franklin name and thought they were OK.  I much prefer the writing style and more complex character and storyline development that she used in Daughter of Lir and I’m looking forward to reading some of her other historical novels.  This one is out of print, but used copies can be found online.

Everybody can't be wrong:  “The trouble with the Irish was that they had never been conquered by the Romans and therefore had no conception of a straight line.   Their roads were as convoluted as their thinking.”  What everybody said about the Irish.