This September, I will be traveling for the first time to Ireland and Scotland. And while I am extremely anxious about having to drive there–it’s the wrong side of the road for me!–I am thrilled to finally visit these two places.
To prepare–I did just rewatch the first season of Outlander–I thought I’d ask for recs for romances set in either Ireland or Scotland. What are your favorites and why?
I’ve been reading endless articles about whether or not and, if so, how the probable overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States could influence the 2022 midterms and the 2024 election. The answer seems to be: Not much. Most pundits think that despite the strong passions voters have about the issue, stricter limits…
We listen to you, we really do. And we’ve noticed that you, along with several of our reviewers, aren’t all that happy with most – not all, but most – of the historical romance that’s been published in the past year or so. Using our Power Search feature, we looked at all the Historical Romance…
While we had varying degrees of satisfaction around the latest season of Bridgerton, I think we all agree it’s excellent to see romance novels adapted for TV. Given how wildly successful Bridgerton has been, I have to believe that entertainment industry execs are eagerly looking for other love stories to bring to the small screen….
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I cannot stop raving about The Frozen River, Ariel Lawson’s upcoming book. I can’t wait for youall to be able to read it. It is the best historical fiction I’ve read in a good long while. Lawson’s book is about Martha Ballard, an American midwife who lived from 1735 to 1812. Ballard is a well-known…
I drive on the wrong (!) side of the road often, and don’t find it a problem. BUT, I think one thing you might notice is that the roads are smaller, especially if you’re somewhere rural.
Yes–although we have a fair amount of narrow roads in the rural South. I don’t ever drive, however, on the opposite side of the road. I worry all my instincts will fail me!
Thing is, you’ll be hiring a car with the controls on the correct side of the car to drive on the left. I take my British car to Europe and have to drive on the wrong side of the road – which is probably more difficult, so I reckon you’ll be fine!
I suspect most of the romances I’ve read set in Ireland or Scotland are ones you’ve already read or heard of, such as Kris Kennedy’s Irish romances. Some others I recall enjoying:
–Uncertain Magic by Laura Kinsale, maybe not one of her best, but still original and uniquely Kinsale and worth reading
–Highland Rebel by Judith James, gets off to a rocky start with a cliched scene that involves heroine nursing a wounded hero, but really comes into its own after the two decide upon a marriage of convenience that turns to friendship and later love
–Jules Watson’s Dalriada trilogy, historical fiction with a strong romance between a priestess of the Dalriada and an Irish prince. The 2nd book depicts an epic battle between the Celtic tribes and Romans in the 1st century AD and concludes the story for the main couple. The 3rd book is more of a stand-alone, follow-up roughly 200 years later.
Not romance (more of a coming-of-age tale), but This is Happiness by Niall Williams is a lovely tribute to rural village life in mid-20th century Ireland just before electricity finally comes to the village and changes people’s way of life.
If you like Nora Roberts, I would definitely try her. She has a couple of trilogies set in Ireland. There was her Born Series (Born in Fire, Ice and Shame – these are more straight romance) her Jewels series (Jewels of the Sun, Tears of the Moon, Heart of the Sea – includes a touch of fantasy) or her Witch Series (Dark Witch, Shadow Spell and Black Magic – obviously a bit more fantasy).
I enjoy a lot of what team May McGoldrick does!
This is another “author” I’ve not heard about before. The biographical info about the authors would suggest smart – or well researched – writing, yes?
Yep, at least in my opinion!
Monica McCarty’s Highland Guard series
Karen Marie Moning’s Highlander series
Susanna Kearsley The Winter Sea and The Firebird…although I think a couple of others are set in Scotland too
Julie Garwood’s HF had a few set in Scotland
Lady Darby Mysteries
Sarah Ferguson’s Her Heart for a Compass and A Most Intriguing Lady
Have you read Catherine Walsh? Her books have Irish leads and settings. I think of her as Mhairi McFarlaneish. I liked One-Night Stand and The Matchmaker. I’ve got Holiday Romance on my TBR for a slump.
McFarlane’s Just Last Night may be angst filled but the swoon part kicks in during a trip to Scotland.
I haven’t read McFarlane before–thanks!
I’m a McFarland fan so will definitely give Walsh a try. Thanks for the rec!
Patrick Taylor’s “Irish Country Doctor” series are not romances but definitely evoke a time and place in 1960s (?) rural northern Ireland. An Irish Country Doctor is the first book in the series; and could be compared (new doctor, new to living and making do in a rural area) to James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small.
Of the recent books I have read set in Scotland, I can’t top Lizzie Lamb’s books which I really rate. I submitted a review of her Dark Highland Skies here and she did post here to introduce herself. The Outlander books are incredibly wonderful because they incorporate so much detailed research that Diana Gabaldon has carried out over a long career. I have spent a lot of time in Scotland (which, for me begins once you have got through Glasgow!!) and, in particular, the Western Highlands. I have also been to the Hebrides including Skye, Mull, Iona, Islay, Jura,Arran and Lewis and Harris. I am currently reading Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy set in the latter and enjoying them very much; so evocative, especially of the ever changing weather. Some years ago we also visited the Orkney and Shetland isles and Orkney was truly fascinating if you are interested in neolithic history; Skara Brae and Maes Howe had long been on my bucket list.
Caz is right about the roads. There are two things to mention: one lane with “passing places” which, sadly, too many tourists driving (rented and unfamiliar) RVs think are parking places. NO, NO they are not and mean exactly what they say on the tin. And secondly, the North Coast 500 has meant a huge increase in traffic in remote but ecstatically beautiful places. We have driven all of it, in bits, over the years but before the NC500 made it overly busy so be careful: many tourists don’t understand the nature of the roads let alone driving on the left and the rules of the road in the UK. Have a wonderful trip, Dabney, for me the Western Highlands are the most beautiful place on the planet so I hope you will love it. But, please, do go prepared for all four seasons to happen in one day!!
Scotland is definitely on my list to visit someday, and your descriptions Elaine just amplify my interest. How lucky you (and all the rest of AAR’s British readers) are to live so close by!
Several of Grace Burrowes novels are set in Scotland and Burrowes is generally quite readable.
Although it’s not a romance, I recommend Lucy Foley’s The Guest List. It’s set on an island off the coast of Ireland, and it’s very atmospheric. The island is very much one of the main characters in the story, and the ocean, the wind, the bogs, the bodies in the bogs, the peat, all play a role. I read it before my trip to Ireland in May, and viewing the bog bodies in the Museum of Archeology in Dublin took on extra meaning. I listened to the audiobook to get an ear for the accent. Not all the characters are Irish, but several are, and that helped. Of course, I recommend watching Derry Girls if you haven’t already.
Thanks! I have the book and just haven’t gotten around to it yet!
There are so few great Irish-set historical romances, in my opinion! There are so many Scottish romances you would think there would be more. I’m personally very interested in the 18th and early 19th century history of Ireland, so I have enjoyed the well-researched background of the 1798 Rebellion in Laurel McKee’s (Amanda McCabe) Daughters of Erin trilogy and Susanna Craig’s Rogues and Rebels trilogy. Also related is a great older Signet Regency by Emma Jensen called The Irish Rogue if you can find it!
I also have always remembered a couple of Jeanette Baker novels that are both contemporary and slightly paranormal-ish, Nell and Irish Lady. Both touch on the Troubles in Northern Ireland and are well done.
Judith O’Brien’s ghost romance Maiden Voyage has a great Irish feel to it.
For contemporary Irish mainstream fiction, I’ve really enjoyed Anna McPartlin’s books, especially Pack Up the Moon – more women’s fiction, but very good. In the vein of Marian Keyes.
For Irish literary fiction, you can’t go wrong with anything in the older backlist of Edna O’Brien. And I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend one of my favorite books of recent years…A Ghost in the Throat by Dorieann Ni Ghriofa, a very unique book that is memoir, poetry, non-fiction/history, and a literary essay on translation. Ni Ghriofa, a modern Irish poet translates and researches an 18th century lament written by a woman about her murdered husband and the result is beautiful as she relates her own personal stories to the historical work.
Joan Wolf wrote a Signet Regency called “A Difficult Truce,” which takes place partly in Ireland. I found it memorable for the grim portrayal of how brutal the English had been to the Irish as exemplified by the heroine’s personal history. The book came out in 1981, so it may be difficult to get. I have a lot of her backlist on my Nook, but not that one.
Wolf also wrote The Scottish Lord. It’s a very angsty Regency, but it is mostly set during a London season, as I recall.
Stephanie Laurens has a lot of cross-country travel in “In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster.” The heroine can’t really ride horses well, which precipitates much travel along the border. It is the second book in a trilogy, and the first and third books also have travel/chase sequences through Scotland. Similarly, Stella Riley’s first Brandon Brothers book, “A Trick of Fate,” features a couple careering through rain, mud, and occasional sunshine in Scotland.
For contemporaries set in Ireland, there’s “Declan’s Cross,” the third book in the Sharpe and Donovan series by Carla Neggers. The series moves between Maine, Boston, Ireland, and Great Britain. Neggers visits Ireland a lot, so I am guessing her portraits of Ireland are reliable. Neggers also wrote a four-book series called The Ireland Series, but only the second book is actually set in Ireland. The others mostly take place in various New England locations, but there are plenty of ties to Ireland.
I share the disgust over the fact that we, the British, have brutalized other nations and cultures to get where we are today. (I am English, by the way.)
So much condemnation is aimed at so many other countries, groups or governments committing atrocities and genocides – and rightly so – but I cannot recall we British ever apologizing for the deliberate policy of depopulation of Ireland we inflicted on the Irish in the 19th century.
This amounted to millions under the British politician, Trevelyan’s, watch.
This does not mean I condone the subsequent actions – on ether side – during ‘the troubles’. However, it did move me sufficiently to offer a balanced reminder of the awful consequences of the British government’s action in Book 1 of my saga, ‘The Sign of the Rose‘.
I hope I was able to treat references to the subject with sensitivity and without sparking controversy in, after all, is a romantic adventure aimed to entertain as much as to inform.
That said, I feel it doesn’t hurt to add some gravitas to today’s feel-good fiction, certainly when – in my opinion – the romance genre seems over-represented by too frivolous a treatment of ‘the love interest’ in most new releases onto the Amazon market.