Tipperary (2007)

The best-selling Irish novelist (Ireland) does his country's storytelling tradition proud with this historical romance that both winks at and revels in its melodrama. Charles O'Brien, a traveling healer, is nearing 40 in 1900 when he falls in love with the young April Burke. Told from O'Brien's point of view as well as that of a modern narrator, Tipperary chronicles Ireland's turbulence in the early 20th century and the saga of O'Brien's passion. For readers not weaned on stories told in their own good time, the first half crawls, but patience is rewarded when Frank Delaney hits a brilliant stride.