Sean O'Faolain: Literature, Inheritance and the 1930s

by Paul Delaney

Overview

Sean O'Faolain was one of the most influential figures in 20th-century Irish culture. A short-story writer of international repute, he was also a leading commentator and critic, and was editor of the landmark journal The Bell. O'Faolain's work was central to the evolution of post-independence Irish writing, and his voice was one of the most prominent, and eloquent, in the fight against censorship in Ireland. This book presents an innovative re-reading and vibrant study of O'Faolain's diversity and influence, engaging with his non-fiction, as well as his novels and short stories. From the conflicting biographies of Eamon de Valera to the controversies and debates of the 1940s, the importance of Sean O'Faolain's legacy and relevance to modern readers is teased out in accessible and original insights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780716532675
Publisher:	Irish Academic Press
Publication date:	12/31/2014
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.20(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements viii

A Note on the Text x

Introduction: Contexts and Early Criticism 1

Part I Biography: Interpretation, Intervention, Revision 43

1 'Quite unnecessary': The Early Biographies 52

2 'Let Ireland begin': King of the Beggars 85

3 Iterations and Revisions: De Valera 116

Part II Fiction: Literature Revivified? 141

4 Modulated Perspectives: Midsummer Night Madness 153

5 'Rising in the World': A Nest of Simple Folk 176

6 Faust Under the Weather-Fish: Bird Alone 198

7 'It's hard to tell…': A Purse of Coppers 227

Postscript: She Had to Do Something 253

Bibliography 257

Index 273