Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ireland is a country that arouses strong opinions: everyone has a view on its character, its foibles, its charms and its waywardness. It has inspired some of the best poetry and nurtured some of the best writers in the world, and in The Oxford Book of Ireland poets, novelists, artists, dramatists, historians, philosophers, peasants and aristocrats are brought together to celebrate and commemorate the nation and its people. Irish history lives more in the present than that of other countries, and there are constant reminders in these pages of past triumphs and tragedies, and their continuing impact on the national psyche. Conquest, famine, emigration, the decline of the language, the struggle for identity and independence are all charted here with a raw and passionate immediacy. Interwoven with episodes of national turbulence are lyrical sections on the Irish landscape and countryside, on the cities and the suburbs, the climate and the folk culture: high jinks and conviviality alongside reminiscence and disputation. Patricia Craig's skilful selection transforms a kaleidoscope of images into a picture of real substance and character; immensely rich and varied, full of the unexpected, as well as familiar voices from the Irish scene. The Oxford Book of Ireland captures the essence of a complex and fascinating land.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. vii)
• Map of Dublin (p. xvii)
• Map of Ireland (p. xviii)
• The Character of Ireland (p. 1)
• Dublin of the Old Statues (p. 19)
• A Brighter Life (p. 52)
• Hoary with History (p. 76)
• Dirty Streets and Proud People (p. 93)
• In My Childhood Trees Were Green (p. 115)
• An Ulster Twilight (p. 138)
• Bitter Memories (p. 165)
• A Nation of Lunaticks! (p. 192)
• The Irish Question (p. 212)
• The Fields Beyond the House (p. 233)
• Brown Rain Falling Heavily (p. 251)
• The Thick and Bloody Fight (p. 268)
• The Amazing Power of Emblems (p. 305)
• The Famish'd Land (p. 331)
• Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree (p. 350)
• Ancestral Houses (p. 367)
• Western Landscape (p. 386)
• Puritan Ireland (p. 403)
• Sean-nos/Old Style (p. 426)
• The Stereophonic Nightmare (p. 455)
• The War Against the Past (p. 483)
• Acknowledgements (p. 503)
• Index of Authors (p. 512)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Craig (ed., Oxford Book of Modern Women's Stories, 1994) has produced a tome that skims the surface of Irish literary history. It has obligatory chapters like "The Thick and Bloody Fight" and "Bitter Memories," alongside the more interesting "Brown Rain Falling Heavily." Ireland is a well-documented land, and Craig's challenge was to find fresh voices from various times and places. To a degree she has succeeded. Perhaps more passages on bitter memories and violence seep out than those on gentle rains and cottages with peat fires, but this is leavened by the range of entries, over 200 from the earliest Celtic writings to the late 1990s by writers and poets ranging from Bowes to Yeats to Heaney. There is welcome, though brief, mention of peaceful Ulster and tenant farmers with decent landlords. Few passages are even a page in length, as Craig chose breadth over depth. This makes the book hard to use as a teaching tool but good for pleasure reading; if one entry is too misty or too bitter, flip the page or go to the next section. Recommended for public libraries.‘Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceuticals, Framingham, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Patricia Craig was born and educated in Belfast before moving to London, where she now lives. She is a freelance critic and reviewer, and has edited several anthologies, including Oxford Books of Detective Stories, English Detective Stories, Modern Women's Stories, and Travel Stories.