'Striking ... Hegarty has gifted us a vital book for our time. Bathed in light, seeped in colour; it is full of the act of being mortal - in a landscape that is - slowly, finally - finding what it means to be human' IRISH TIMES. A surprising and ambitious work of fiction centred on the art world, featuring an artist who has become an art thief, an obsessive curator and a specialist in major art thefts. Their stories intersect with the fate of a legendary work by a tragic Victorian woman artist who painted the picture as a kind of funeral dress, using the notoriously fragile distemper technique. At the heart of this moving and unusual novel is a strange painting by a woman who committed suicide rather than live with neglect and pain. Her final glowingly beautiful work was painted with a technique more usual for posters and banners, and not designed to last. She intended it as her shroud. It hangs in a Dublin gallery, and it is desired by a collector who is willing to pay to have it stolen. The thief is a disillusioned, corrupted London artist coping with tragic loss. The curator of the painting is a lonely gallerist whose life centres on her work. And the man charged with recovering the stolen painting is a gay man trapped in an abusive relationship. The lives of these three damaged people, each evoked with a calm, moving sympathy reminiscent of Michael Cunningham or David Park, come together around the hauntingly strange Victorian painting. Set in London, Dublin, Northern Ireland and various European capitals, The Jewel is a major new novel from an Irish writer coming into his own. 'Irish author Neil Hegarty proves again that he is one to watch ... Hegarty writes with sharp intelligence, which coupled with his strong storytelling and well-defined characters, results in a gripping plot that also offers an affecting insight into how artifice permeates our lives' OBSERVER. 'Neil Hegarty's rich and intriguing second novel starts off in the realm of Victorian pastiche but ends up as a gripping present-day heist plot ... [Hegarty] gives himself lots to juggle but manages with aplomb, setting the wounded trio at the book's heart on a grimly compelling collision course' DAILY MAIL.

Neil Hegarty's bestselling history of Ireland is a story crowded with the drama of complex characters, shifting allegiances and changing identities. Revisiting the major turning points in the Irish story, Hegarty looks not only at the dynamics of what happened in Ireland, but also at the role of events abroad. With a new afterword that covers the dramatic events of 2011 - including the multi-billion-euro international bailout of Ireland's economy, Fianna Fail's electoral meltdown, and the first ever visit by a British sovereign to the Irish Republic - Story of Ireland is the history of a country shaped by and helping shape the world around it. Accompanying a landmark series coproduced by the BBC and RTE, and with an introduction by series presenter, Fergal Keane, Story of Ireland is an epic account of Ireland's history for an entire new generation.

In this groundbreaking history of Ireland, Neil Hegarty presents a fresh perspective on Ireland's past. Comprehensive and engaging, "The Story of Ireland "is an eye-opening account of a nation that has long been shaped by forces beyond its coasts.

"The Story of Ireland" re-examines Irish history, challenging the accepted stories and long-held myths associated with Ireland. Transporting readers to the Ireland of the past, beginning with the first settlement in A.D. 433, this is a sweeping and compelling history of one of the world's most dynamic nations. Hegarty examines how world events, including Europe's 16th century religious wars, the French and American revolutions, and Ireland's policy of neutrality during World War II, have shaped the country over the course of its long and fascinating history. With an up-to-date afterword that details the present state of affairs in Ireland, this is an essential text for readers who are fascinated by current events, politics, and history.

Spanning Irish history from its earliest inhabitants to the country's current financial crisis, "The Story of Ireland" is an epic and brilliant re-telling of Ireland's history from a new point of view.