Full Description
Ireland has always been a nation of story-tellers - tall stories, simple stories, stories of mystery and wonder, love and violence - and Irish short-story writers are perhaps the most talented in the world. This magnificent anthology chronicles the development of a rich literary tradition from the earliest folktales to James Joyce, Liam O'Flaherty, and the rising stars of a new generation.
William Trevor, described as `perhaps the finest short-story writer in the English language', has collected 45 stories representing the best of Irish short fiction: He includes several longer stories such as the masterly `Albert Nobbs' by George Moore and Seumas O'Kelly's `The Weaver's Grave' which shows these writers at the peak of their form; and there are also distinguished contributions from Oliver Goldsmith, Maria Edgeworth, William Carleton, Sheridan Le Fanu, Sean O'Faolain, Frank O'Connor, and Elizabeth Bowen among others.
This splendid addition to the popular Oxford Books series will be welcomed by everyone who enjoys short stories.
Contents
The hour of death; Fionn in search of his youth; Cromwell and the friar; the Girl and the Sailor; the Four-leafed Shamrock and the Cock; the Cow that Ate the Piper; Conal and Donal and Taig; Adventures of a Strolling Player, Oliver Goldsmith; the Limerick Gloves, Maria Edgeworth; the Death of a Devotee, William Carleton; the Brown Man, Gerald Griffin; Green Tea, Sheridan Le Fanu; Albert Nobbs, George Moore; the Sphinx without a Secret, Oscar Wilde; Philippa's Fox-hunt, E.E.Somerville and Martin Ross; the Priest, Daniel Corkery; the Weaver's Grave, Seumas O'Kelly; the Dead, James Joyce; my Little Black Ass, Padraic O Conaire; the Triangle, James Stephens; Bush River, Joyce Cary; the Pedlar's Revenge, Liam O'Flaherty; the Fanatic, Lian O'Flaherty; Her Table Spread, Elizabeth Bowen; the Faithless Wife, Sean O'Faolain; the Sugawn Chair, Sean O'Faolain; Guests of the Nation, Frank O'Connor; the Majesty of the Law, Frank O'Connor; Pastorale, Patrick Boyle; the Hare-lip, Mairtin O'Cadhain; the Poteen Maker, Michael McLaverty; the Ring, Bryan MacMahon; Sarah, Mary Lavin; Desert Island, Terence De Vere White; the Pilgrims, Benedict Kiely; Weep for our Pride, James Plunkett; Loser, Val Mulkerns; the Bird I Fancied, Aidan Higgins; Death in Jerusalem, William Trevor; the Diviner, Brian Friel; an Occassion of Sin, John Montague; Irish Revel, Edna O'Brien; First Conjugation, Julia O'Faolain; the Beginning of an Idea, John McGahern; Life Drawing, Bernard MacLaverty; the Airedale, Desmond Hogan.
