Tom, Ned and Kitty: An Intimate Portrait of an Irish Family

The Pakenhams, originally a Norman family from Suffolk, were "adventurers" in Ireland in the 1640s. By the 1650s the family acquired the large estates of Tullynally in County Westmeath. This history chronicles succeeding generations of remarkable men and women and their tangles with the turbulence of history. The period 1760 to 1860 was a purple period: daring Pakenham admirals and generals fought in all the major theaters of war—the 1798 rebellion in Ireland, the Peninsular War, the American War of 1812, The Napoleonic Wars, and the Crimea. Correspondence with the famous men and women of the day gives fresh insight into scandal and dramas, as well as an understanding of the political foment of the period.