Eilís Dillon published eight novels, which appeared in England and America; some were also translated into German. They attracted a good deal of critical acclaim, and the later ones regularly featured in bestseller lists. This page offers a quick overview of the novels, and some critical assessments. Some of the novels now have their own separate web pages, linked below. Her most famous book remains Across the Bitter Sea, which together with its sequel, Blood Relations, explores at length some of the violent upheavals of the author's own childhood, and the historical roots of those events. The early novels remain interesting in themselves and can also be read retrospectively as rehearsals of big themes that will flow into the later historical novels. Taken together, these books portray a certain idea of Ireland, of family, of causes and motivations on the small and grand scales.