Novels of the Easter Rising
Blood Upon the Rose
Hunt, Gerry
The O’Brien P
2009
Plot Summary
Depicting twelve days in 1916, from April 23rd to May 3rd, Blood Upon the Rose illustrates the events of the Easter Rising from perspective of the key Irish organizers and military commanders. The action all takes place in Dublin, with one brief insert noting news of the Rising travelling across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City. The novel opens with Joseph Mary Plunkett’s marriage to Grace Gifford in Kilmainham Gaol and Plunkett is the organizing principle in the narrative. While covering familiar historical moments from the days of the Rising to the execution of its leaders, Blood Upon the Rose is remarkable for being the only graphic novel published about Easter 1916.
Main Characters
Joseph Mary Plunkett
James Connolly
Padraig Pearse
Significant Minor Characters
Grace Gifford
Thomas MacDonagh
Ned Daly
Éamonn Ceannt
Michael Malin
Séan Heuston
Muriel MacDonagh
Colonel MacOnchy
Publication History
Blood Upon the Rose was first published in paperback in 2009, reprinted in 2010 and became the centrepiece of an exhibit at Kilmainham Gaol in 2011.