- 302 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
In their day, the Anglo-Irish were the ascendant minority--Protestant, loyalist, privileged landholders in a recumbent, rural, and Catholic land. Their world is vanished, but shades of the Anglo-Irish linger in the big-house estates of Ireland and in the imaginative writings of this realm. In this first comprehensive study of their literature, Julian Moynahan rediscovers the unity of their greatest writings, from Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent through Yeats's poetry to Bowen's The Last September and Samuel Beckett's Watt. Throughout he challenges postcolonial assumptions, arguing that the Anglo-Irish since 1800 were indelibly Irish, not mere colonial servants of Imperial Britain. Moynahan begins in 1800 with the Act of Union, when the Anglo-Irish become Irish. Just as the fortunes of this community begin to wane, its literary power unfolds. The Anglo-Irish produce a haunting, memorable body of writings that explore a unique yet always Irish identity and destiny. Moynahan's exploration of the literature reveals women writers--Maria Edgeworth, Edith Somerville, Martin Ross, and Elizabeth Bowen--as a generative and major force in the development of this literary imagination. Along the way, he attends closely to the Gothic and to the mystery writing of C. R. Maturin and J. S. Le Fanu, and provides in-depth revaluations of William Carleton and Charles Lever.
Originally published in 1995.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- I Prologue: "Irish Enough"
- II Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849): Origination and a Checklist
- III William Carleton (1794-1869): The Native Informer
- IV Declensions of Anglo-Irish History: The Act of Union to the Encumbered Estates Acts of 1848-49 . . . With a Glance at a Singular Heroine
- V Charles Lever (1806-72): The Anglo-Irish Writer as Diplomatic Absentee. With a Glance at John Banim
- VI The Politics of Anglo-Irish Gothic: Charles Robert Maturin, Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, and the Return of the Repressed
- VII History Again: The Era of Parnell—Myths and Realities
- VIII Spinsters Ball: George Moore and the Land Agitation
- IX "The Strain of the Double Loyalty": Edith Somerville and Martin Ross
- X W. B. Yeats and the End of Anglo-Irish Literature
- XI After the End: The Anglo-Irish Postmortem
- Afterword
- Notes
- Works Cited
- Index