Chapter III: Preface: To a Readers Guide to Irish Fiction (1910) (2)

“The first of a projected series illustrative of the history
of I.” (Title-p.). See also Introd. (pp. xxx.) containing some
interesting remarks about Irish historical fiction. Claims to
“give the history as it really occurred.” The book is a quite
good attempt to relate the rebellion of Silken Thomas in a
romantic vein (though with no love interest) and to picture
the times. The conversations, though somewhat long-drawn-out,
are in very creditable Elizabethan English, redolent of
Shakespeare. Opens with a description of Christmas in Dublin in
1533. The Author is not enthusiastically Nationalist, but is
quite fair to the Irish side.

⸺ TIM DOOLIN, THE IRISH EMIGRANT. Pp. 360 (close print). (_Partridge_). 3_s._ 6_d._ Illustr. Third ed., 1869.

By the Author of “Mick Tracy” (_q.v._). Tim, son of a
small farmer in Co. Cork, as a result of his conversion to
Protestantism, has his house burned down and his cattle killed.
He emigrates to U.S.A., but soon passes to Canada, and helps to
repel the Fenian raid. He is joined by his family, and all live
happily at Castle Doolin. Less offensive than “Mick Tracy” in
its allusions to religious controversies.

⸺ UNITED IRISHMAN, THE; or, The Fatal Effects of Credulity. Two Vols. (DUBLIN). 1819.

A United Irishman who had escaped from Dublin Castle by
the heroism of a sister, tells the tale of his woes to an
Englishman, who meets him by accident. The latter in turn tells
his story, equally woeful. The writer seems to be a Catholic
and to sympathize more or less with the United Irishman. The
book contains material for a good story, but it is told in a
rambling manner, without art, and is full of sentimentality. No
attempt to picture events or life of the times.

⸺ VERTUE REWARDED; or, The Irish Princess. A New Novel. Pp. 184. 16mo. (LONDON: _Bentley_). 1893.

This is No. III. in Vol. xii. of “Modern Novels,” printed for
R. Bentley, 1892-3. Dedicatory Epist. “To the Incomparable
Marinda.” (Pref.) “To the ill-natured reader.” A petty foreign
prince in the train of William III. falls in love with an Irish
beauty whom he sees in a window when passing through Clonmel.
The story tells of the vicissitudes of his love suit. It is
eked out by several minor incidents. Nothing historical except
the mention of the siege of Limerick.

⸺ VEUVE IRLANDAISE ET SON FILS, LA; Histoire véritable. Pp. 36. (PARIS: _Delay_). 1847.

A little Protestant religious tract telling how a poor Irish
widow was brought round to Protestant ideas by means of Bible
readings.

⸺ WEIRD TALES. Irish. 256 pp. 18mo. (_Paterson_). [1890].

Eleven tales selected from Carleton (“The Lianhan Shee”), Lover
(“The Burial of O’Grady”), Lever, Croker (“The Banshee”), Mrs.
Hall, and J. B. O’Meara, together with some anonymous items.

⸺ WILLIAM AND JAMES; or, The Revolution of 1689; by “A Lady.” Pp. xiv. + 354. (DUBLIN). 1857.

“An Historical Tale, in which the leading events of that ...
period of our history ... are faithfully and truly narrated.”
Introduces William III., James II., Tyrconnell, Sarsfield,
Richard Hamilton, &c. Describes Boyne and Aughrim. Scene
chiefly Co. Fermanagh. Tone strongly Protestant (there are
digressions on religious matters), but without offensiveness to
the other side. It is a rather rambling, ill-connected story,
the work of a prentice hand. The initials of the author seem to
be J. M. M. K.

=[ABRAHAM, J. Johnstone]=, a native of Coleraine. B.A., 1898; M.D., T.C.D., 1908; a consulting Surgeon in London; now serving in R.A.M.C. Author of _The Surgeon’s Log_.

⸺ THE NIGHT NURSE. Pp. 318. (_Chapman & Hall_). 6_s._ Fifth edition. 1913. 2_s._

Life in a Dublin hospital, carefully observed. Sex problem of
“the greater and the lesser love,” studied in a distinctly
“biological” way. As foil to the main characters, who are
of the respectable Protestant classes, we have “R.C.’s” of
a most undesirable type, and, in the background, the wholly
disreputable Irishry of a western town. The four plagues of
Ireland are Priests, Politicians, Pawnbrokers, and Publicans,
according to one of the personages. The medical interest is
prominent throughout. By the same Author: _The Surgeon’s Log_.

=ADAMS, Joseph.=

⸺ UNCONVENTIONAL MOLLY. Pp. 320. (_Methuen_). 6_s._ 1913.

The young heir of the old rackrenting absentee comes (from
Cambridge) incognito among his tenantry in the West and lives
their life. He meets the heroine who gives its title to the
book—with the expected result. The rest is a series of little
episodes—fishing in a western mountain-stream, a day’s shooting
on a moor, a sail on Clew Bay, a petty sessions court, a
matchmaking, a fair, &c., &c., all with a splendid setting of
Western scenery. Might be written by a sympathetic and kindly
visitor who had enjoyed his holiday.

=ALEXANDER, Eleanor.= Born at Strabane, daughter of the late Dr. Alexander, Archbishop of Armagh (d. 1911), and of Mrs. Cecilia Frances Alexander, both of them well known as poets. Educated at home. Has written verse for the SPECTATOR and for other periodicals. At the outbreak of war was preparing for publication a collection of Ulster stories illustrative of the peculiar humour of the North. Her _Lady Anne’s Walk_, a miscellany of historical reminiscence woven round a place and one who walked there long ago, contains an excellent bit of Ulster dialect—the talk of the old gardener.

⸺ THE RAMBLING RECTOR. Pp. 344. (_Arnold_). Third impression, 1904. (N.Y.: _Longmans_). 1.50.

A story of love, marriage, and social intercourse among
various classes of Church of Ireland people in Ulster. Draws
a sympathetic picture of clerical life, the hero being a
clergyman. Every character, and there are very many interesting
types, is drawn with sure and distinct traits. There are no
mere lay figures. John Robert is a curious and amusing study
of a certain type of servant. Full of shrewd observation and
knowledge of human nature, at least in all its outward aspects.
Very well written. By the same author: _Lady Anne’s Walk_, _The
Lady of the Well_, &c.

=ALEXANDER, Evelyn.=

⸺ THE HEART OF A MONK. Pp. 318. (_Long_). 6_s._ 1910.

The love story of Ivor Jermyn, who for reasons connected with
an hereditary family curse is induced by his mother to become a
Benedictine. During a vacation five years after his profession
he meets his former love at a country house, and a liaison
is formed. Taxed with this by his rival, the shock makes
him see the family “ghost”—the “old man of horror.” A fatal
illness results, and he leaves the field to his rival. Written
pleasantly and lightly. Shows little knowledge of Catholic ways
and doctrines.

⸺ THE ESSENCE OF LIFE. Pp. 320. (_Long_). 6_s._ 1911.

Youth is “the Essence of Life,” as exemplified in the heroine’s
crowded moments in the social life of Dublin and London,
closing with her marriage with Lord Portstow, but shadowed by
the tragedy of a beautiful actress, who turns out to be her
mother. The novel does not rise above the commonplace.—[TIMES
LIT. SUPPL.].

=ALEXANDER, L. C.=

⸺ THE BOOK OF BALLYNOGGIN. Pp. 315. (_Grant, Richards_). 6_s._ 1902.

Stories of a miscellaneous kind, mostly humorous, told in a
pleasant and readable style. Shows little knowledge of Irish
life. The peasantry are treated somewhat contemptuously. The
interest at times turns on the absurdities of Irish politics
and of Irish legal proceedings.

=ALEXANDER, Miriam (Mrs. Stokes).= Born at Birkenhead. Educated at home, except for a short period at Alexandra College, Dublin. Has almost finished another novel, dealing this time with modern Irish life. Was much interested in the Gaelic League till alienated from it by recent events.

⸺ THE HOUSE OF LISRONAN. Pp. 312. (_Melrose_). 6_s._ 1912.

A tale of the Williamite wars. Dermot Lisronan vows vengeance
on the brutal Dutchman who has driven him from his ancestral
home and been the death of his mother. The book is the story
of that vengeance. Dermot by a strange fatality marries the
daughter of this Dutchman, and some fine psychological and
human interest is afforded by the struggle in her mind between
love (the love of Dermot’s once bosom friend Fitz Ulick)
and wifely duty. The book is full of exciting and dramatic
incidents and situations, and never flags from the lurid
beginning to the tragic close. The characters are clearly drawn
and they are worth drawing:—Bartley, the Hedge-schoolmaster;
Taaffe, the besotted coward, sorry product of Williamite rule;
Father Talbot, the devoted priest of penal days; Barry Fitz
Ulick, a kind of Sir Launcelot, and the rest. William III.
is painted in darkest colours, and the penal days that he
inaugurated are shown in their full horror, though as an offset
to this we have a picture of the persecution of Huguenots in
France.

N.B.—This novel gained a 250 guinea prize by the unanimous
award of three competent judges. Six editions were sold in less
than two months.

⸺ PORT OF DREAMS, THE. Pp. 351. (_Melrose_). 6_s._ 1912.

Dedication: To Caitlín ni Houlihan. A stirring and vivid
romance of Jacobite days (18th century) in Ireland, containing
some intensely dramatic episodes, _e.g._, the escape of Prince
Charles Edward. There are many threads in the narrative,
but the chief interest, perhaps, centres in a Jacobite who,
having served the cause well for twenty years, finds himself
confronted with the spectre of physical cowardice. To save
the cause from disgrace, his cousin Denis takes his place on
the scaffold. The girl marries Clavering for the same reason,
not for love. The author interrupts her narrative at times to
express her views on Celticism (for which she is enthusiastic),
religious persecution, and modern degeneracy.

⸺ RIPPLE, THE. Pp. 367. (_Melrose_). 6_s._ 1913.

Opens in Mayo (Achill scenery described), but soon shifts to
Poland and then to France. Adventures of Deirdre van Kaarew
(daughter of a recreant Irishman who has Dutchified his name
and turned Protestant), who has followed her brother to rescue
him from the designs of a hated kinsman. She falls in love
with Maurice de Saxe (of whom a careful and vivid portrait is
drawn), and the story of this “friendship” takes up much of
the book. She refuses him in the end, and marries the hated
kinsman. A fine plot, full of dramatic incidents.

⸺ MISS O’CORRA, M.F.H. (_Melrose_). 6_s._ 1915.

Miss O’Corra, who has become a rich heiress, leaves her
English home and comes to hunt in Ireland. She is quite
ignorant of equine matters, and various amusing difficulties
beset her. She meets her fate in the person of a young Irish
sportsman.—(_Press_).

=ALEXANDER, Rupert.=

⸺ MAUREEN MOORE: a Romance of ’98. Pp. viii. + 355. (_Burleigh_). 6_s._ 1899.

A well told story, introducing Lord Edward and the other
leaders. Maureen, an American, is the niece of John Moore, who
is driven into rebellion by the persecution of the “Yeos.”
His two sons, one a captain in the army, the other a priest,
also join the rebel ranks. A love interest with cross purposes
pervades the story. Larry Farrell is a great character,
performing wonderful deeds of bravery and having equally
wonderful escapes. The book leans entirely to the rebel side.
The fight at New Ross and the atrocities of Wexford are vividly
described.

=ALGER, Horatio.= Author of over fifty books for Boys.

⸺ ONLY AN IRISH BOY. (N.Y.: _Burt_). $0.75. 1904.

=ANCKETILL, W. R.=

⸺ THE ADVENTURES OF MICK CALLIGHIN, M.P.: A Story of Home Rule; and THE DE BURGHOS: A Romance. Pp. 243. (_Tinsley_). Seven rather rough illustr. 1874. Second ed., Belfast, 1875. 1_s._

1. Mick Callighin leaves Ballypooreen, somewhere near the
Galtees, of which there is a fine description, for Dublin and
then London. He meets his future wife in Kensington Gardens.
The plot is slight, but there is a good deal of pleasant wit,
many political hits, and much satire, not of Home Rule but of
Home Rulers.

2. Arthur Mervyn meets Col. de Burgho and his daughter, home
from Italy. An Italian count, who is also a pirate, carries off
Nora, but she is rescued and married to Arthur. A pretty story,
with some good descriptions of life among the better classes in
the West of Ireland.

=ANDREWS, Elizabeth, F.R.I.A.=

⸺ ULSTER FOLKLORE. Pp. 121. (_Stock_). 5_s._ net. Fourteen illustr., mainly from photos. 1914.

A series of papers read before local learned societies or
contributed to archæological journals. An endeavour to deal
with the folk belief in fairies from an archæological point of
view. The conclusion is that the “souterrains” were originally
the abode of a primitive pigmy race. Imbedded in these pages
(the outcome of much personal research) are many good fairy and
folk stories.

=ANDREWS, Marion.=

⸺ COUSIN ISABEL. Pp. 147. (_Wells Gardner, Darton_). 1_s._ 6_d._ Two illustr. 1903.

A tale, for young people, of the Siege of Londonderry, the
hardships of the defenders, and their brave patience. Isabel,
a veritable angel of mercy for her uncle and cousins is
a pleasant study. Another fine character is old Geoffrey
Lambrick, drawn from a quiet life and his tulips into the smoke
of battle.

=[ARCHDEACON, Matthew].=

⸺ LEGENDS OF CONNAUGHT, TALES, &c. Pp. 406. (DUBLIN: _John Cumming_). 1829.

Seven stories:—“Fitzgerald,” “The Banshee,” “The Election,”
“Alice Thomson,” “M’Mahon,” “The Rebel’s Grave,” “The
Ribbonman.” “Almost every incident in each tale is founded on
fact.” (Pref.). The first story (165 pp.) depicts Connaught “in
a wild and stormy state of society” towards the close of the
eighteenth century, and records the wild deeds and memorable
exit of the very widely known individual who is its hero.

⸺ CONNAUGHT: a Tale of 1798. Pp. 394. (DUBLIN: _printed for M. Archdeacon_). 1830.

The Author was “from infancy in the habit of hearing details
of ‘the time of the Frinch’” ... and has “had an opportunity
of frequently hearing the insurrectionary scenes described by
some of the Actors themselves.” (Pref.) The Author is loyalist,
but not bitterly hostile to the rebels. The rebellion is not
painted in roseate colours, but it is not misrepresented.
Humbert’s campaign is vividly described, but history does not
absorb all the interest. The love story (the lovers are on
the rebel side) is told with zest, and there is abundance of
exciting incident. Quite well written.

⸺ SHAWN NA SAGGARTH, THE PRIESTHUNTER. (_Duffy_). 6_s._ 1843.

A tale of the Penal times.

=ARCHER, Patrick, “MacFinegall.”= Born at Oldtown, North County Dublin, about fifty years ago. Lives in Dublin, where he is a Customs Official.

⸺ THE HUMOURS OF SHANWALLA. Pp. 162. (_Gill_). 2_s._ 6_d._ Frontisp. photo of Author. [1906]. New edition, 1_s._ 6_d._ 1913.

A series of sketches exhibiting the humorous side of village
life in the North County Dublin district, or thereabouts.
Quite free from caricature; in fact tending to set the
people described in a favourable light, and to make them
more appreciated. There is a portrait of a priest, earnest,
persevering, and wholly taken up with his people’s good.
Thoroughly hearty, wholesome humour.

=ARGYLE, Anna.=

⸺ OLIVE LACY. Pp. 365. (PHILADELPHIA: _Lippincott_). 1874, and earlier editions.

Scene: Wicklow during rebellion. Story told in first person
by Olive Lacy, a peasant’s daughter, adopted into a country
gentleman’s family. Castlereagh and Curran are introduced. A
good specimen of the latter’s table talk is given. Olive’s
father becomes a United Irishman, is betrayed by a foreign
monk (who goes about in a habit and cowl!), escapes, is
rearrested, and finally is shot. A general description of
the rising is given. Tone, healthy. Story well told, but for
some improbabilities. Wrote also: _Cecilia; or, The Force of
Circumstances_. N.Y.: 1866; _Cupid’s Album_; _The General’s
Daughter_.

=ARTHUR, F. B.=

⸺ THE DUCHESS. (_Nelson_).

Scene: mainly in Donegal. Standpoint: Protestant and English.
Not unfair to peasantry. A pleasantly told little story. The
hero implicated in Fenian movement, and arrested, escapes from
prison through the cleverness of his little daughter, “the
Duchess.”

=[ASHWORTH, John H.]= Author of _The Saxon in Ireland_.

⸺ RATHLYNN. Three Vols. (_Hurst & Blackett_). 1864.

A young Englishman, son of “Admiral Wyville,” takes up and
works a property in a remote district in Ireland. Told in first
person. The chief interest seems to lie in jealousies and
consequent intrigues arising out of love affairs.

=“ATHENE”= _see_ =HARRIS=.

=AUSTIN, Stella.=

⸺ PAT: A Story for Boys and Girls. (_Wells Gardner_). 2_s._ 6_d._ Illustr.

“One of the prettiest stories of child life. Even the
adult reader will take a great liking to the lively Irish
Boy”—(CHRISTIAN WORLD). By the same Author: _Stumps_,
_Somebody_, _Tib and Sib_, _For Old Sake’s Sake_, &c., &c.

=“AYSCOUGH, John” [Mgr. Bickerstaffe Drew].= The Author is a Catholic priest (a convert), now (August, 1915) acting as a chaplain in the British Army in France. He is one of the best-known writers of the day.

⸺ DROMINA. Pp. 437. (_Arrowsmith_). 6_s._ 1909.

The Author brings together in a queer old castle on the
Western coast the M’Morrogh, descendant of a long line of
Celtic princes, his children by an Italian wife, his French
sister-in-law, a band of gypsies of a higher type, whose king
is Louis XVII. of France, rescued from his persecutors of the
Terror and half-ignorant of his origin. These are some of the
personages of the tale. It is noteworthy that not one of the
characters has a drop of English blood. I shall not give the
plot of the story. The last portion is full of the highest
moral beauty. The lad Enrique or Mudo, son of Henry M’Morrogh
(whose mother was an Italian) and of a Spanish gypsy princess,
is a wonderful conception. When the Author speaks, as he does
constantly, of things Catholic (notably the religious life and
the Blessed Sacrament) he does so not only correctly but in a
reverential and understanding spirit. The one exception is the
character of Father O’Herlihy, which is offensive to Catholic
feeling, and unnatural. The moral tone throughout is high. One
of the episodes is the seduction of a peasant girl, but it is
dealt with delicately and without suggestiveness.

=BANIM, John and Michael “The O’Hara Family.”= John Banim (1798-1842) and Michael Banim (1796-1876) worked together, and bear a close resemblance to one another in style and in the treatment of their material; but the work of John is often gloomy and tragic; that of Michael has more humour, and is brighter. They have both a tendency to be melodramatic, and can picture well savage and turbulent passion. They have little lightness of humour or literary delicacy of touch, but they often write with vigour and great realistic power. The object with which the “O’Hara” Tales were written is thus stated by Michael Banim: “To insinuate, through fiction, the causes of Irish discontent and insinuate also that if crime were consequent on discontent, it was no great wonder; the conclusion to be arrived at by the reader, not by insisting on it on the part of the Author, but from sympathy with the criminals.”

P. J. Kenedy, of New York, publishes an edition of the Banims’
works in ten volumes at seven dollars the set.

=BANIM, John.=

⸺ JOHN DOE; or, The Peep o’ Day. 1825.

The story of a young man who, for revenge, joins the
Shanavests, a secret society, terrible alike to landlord,
tithe-proctor, and even priest. The first of the _Tales by the
O’Hara Family_, republished separately by _Simms & M’Intyre_,
1853; and _Routledge_, _n.d._

⸺ THE FETCHES. (_Duffy_). [1825].

A gloomy story, turning on the influence of superstitious
imaginations on two nervous and high-strung minds. The fetch is
the spirit of a person about to die said to appear to friends.
The story is somewhat lightened by the introduction of two
farcical characters.

⸺ THE NOWLANS. Pp. 256 (close print). [1826], 1853, &c.

The temptation and fall of a young priest, resulting in misery
which leads to repentance. Contains some of Banim’s most
powerful scenes.

⸺ PETER OF THE CASTLE. Pp. 191. (_Duffy_). [1826].

A sensational and romantic tale. The opening chapters (by
Michael Banim) give a detailed description of country
matchmaking and marriage festivities at the time, c. 1770.

⸺ THE BOYNE WATER. Pp. 564. (_Duffy_). 2_s._ [1826]. Many editions since.

In this great novel, which is closely modelled on Scott, scene
after scene of the great drama of the Williamite Wars passes
before the reader. Every detail of scenery and costume is
carefully reproduced. Great historical personages mingle in the
action. The two rival kings with all their chief generals are
represented with remarkable vividness. Then there are Sarsfield
and Rev. George Walker, Galloping O’Hogan the Rapparee, Carolan
the bard, and many others. The politics and other burning
questions of the day are thrashed out in the conversations.
The intervals of the great historical events are filled by the
adventures of the fictitious characters, exciting to the verge
of sensationalism, finely told, though the _deus ex machina_
is rather frequently called in, and the dialogue is somewhat
old-fashioned. The wild scenery of the Antrim coast is very
fully described, also the scenes through which Sarsfield passed
on his famous ride. The standpoint is Catholic and Jacobite,
but great efforts are made to secure historical fairness. The
book ends with the Treaty of Limerick.

⸺ THE ANGLO-IRISH OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. Three Vols. (_Colburn_). [1828]. Republ. in one volume by Duffy in 1865 under title _Lord Clangore_.

Opens in London. Several members of Anglo-Irish Society are
introduced—the Minister (Castlereagh) and the Secretary (Wilson
Croker). There are long disquisitions on Emancipation, the
conversion of the peasantry, &c. Gerald Blount, younger son of
an Irish peer, has all the anti-Irish bias of this set. Flying
after a duel he reaches Ireland, where he has many exciting
adventures with the Rockites. Finally he succeeds to the title
and settles down. The “double” (or mistaken identity) plays
a part in this story, as in so many of Banim’s. A meeting of
the Catholic Association with O’Connell and Shiel debating is
finely described, also a Dublin dinner-party, at which Scott’s
son appears. The early part is somewhat tedious, but the later
scenes are powerful.

⸺ THE CONFORMISTS. Pp. 202. (_Duffy_). [1829].

Period: reign of George II. A very singular story, whose
interest centres in the denial under the Penal Laws of the
right of education to Catholics. A young man, crossed in love,
resolves to become a “conformist” or pervert, and thus at once
disgrace his family, and oust his father from the property.

⸺ THE DENOUNCED; or, The Last Baron of Crana. Pp. 235. (_Duffy_). [1826]. (_Colburn_). 1830. (N.Y.: _Benziger_). 0.75.

Deals with the fortunes of two Catholic families in the period
immediately following the Treaty of Limerick. Depicts their
struggles to practise their religion, and the vexations they
had to undergo at the hands of hostile Protestants. The tale
abounds in incident, often sensational. There is a good deal in
the story about the Rapparees.

⸺ THE CHANGELING. Three Vols. Pp. 315 + 350 + 414. (LONDON). 1848.

Published anonymously. Preface tells us it was written some
few years before date of publication. Scene: City of Galway
and Connemara (including Aran). The main plot is concerned
with the mystery surrounding the heir of Ballymagawley, got
out of the way in early childhood by the present owner, Mr.
Whaley, but returning in disguise to claim his rights. The
interest is threefold:—First, Mr. Whaley’s awful secret unknown
to the daughter, whom he loves with his whole soul, and who
returns his love, and the desperate efforts he makes to avert
the revelation; 2nd, the study of character: Clara Whaley,
high-souled, intellectual, unworldly, scorning fashion and
flirtation, the astute worldly intellectual Hon. Augustus
Foster, the empty-headed Miss Fosters and so on; 3rd, a series
of quite admirable and amusing vignettes of the _petite
bourgeoisie_ of Galway—the vulgar and showy Mrs. Heffernan
with her absurd accent, the match-making Mrs. Flanagan (an
inimitable portrait), the mischief-making Peter Harry Joe,
Considine the Butler, the consequential Captain O’Connor, and
the endless flirtations of the marriageable young ladies. The
peasantry are well drawn, but it is quite an outside view
of their life. The conversations are clever, but sometimes
tediously long, as are also the Author’s reflections.

=BANIM, Michael.=

⸺ CROHOORE OF THE BILLHOOK. (_Duffy_). [1825].

Has been a very popular book. The action lies in one of the
darkest periods of Irish history, when the peasantry, crushed
under tithe-proctor, middleman, and Penal laws, retorted by the
savage outrages of the secret societies. One of these latter
was the “Whiteboys,” with the doings of which this book largely
deals. The Author does not justify outrage, but explains it by
a picture of the conditions of which it was an outcome. A dark
and terrible story. The scene is Kilkenny and neighbourhood. It
must be added that most of the characters savour strongly of
what is now known as the “stage Irishman.”

⸺ THE CROPPY. Pp. 420. (_Duffy_). 2_s._ Still reprinted. [1828].

Opens with a long and serious historical introduction. There
follow many pages of a love story of the better classes which
is, perhaps, not very convincing. Samples of the outrages by
which the people were driven to revolt are given. Then there
are many scenes from the heart of the rebellion itself, some
of them acquired from conversation with eye-witnesses. The
attitude is that of a mild Nationalist, or rather Liberal,
contemplating with sorrow not unmixed with contempt the savage
excesses of his misguided countrymen. The rebellion is shown
in its vulgarest and least romantic aspect, and there are
harrowing descriptions of rebel outrages on Vinegar Hill and
elsewhere. The one noble or even respectable character in the
book, Sir Thomas Hartley, is represented as in sympathy with
constitutional agitation, but utterly abhorring rebellion. The
other chief actors in the story are unattractive. They have
no sympathy with the insurgents, and the parts they play are
connected merely accidentally with the rebellion. There is much
movement and spirit in the descriptive portions.

⸺ THE MAYOR OF WINDGAP. Pp. 190. (_Duffy_). [1834].

Romantic and sensational—attempted murders, abductions, &c. Not
suitable for the young. Interest and mystery well sustained.
Scene: Kilkenny in 1779. There was a Paris edition, 1835.

⸺ THE BIT O’ WRITING.

This is the title-story of a volume of stories. First published
in London, 1838. It may be taken as typical of Michael Banim’s
humour at his best. It is a gem of story-telling, and, besides,
a very close study of the ways and the talk of the peasantry.
The “ould admiral,” with his sailor’s lingo, is most amusing.
It was republished along with another story, _The Ace of
Clubs_, by Gill, in a little volume of the O’Connell Press
Series, pp. 144, cloth, 6_d._, 1886. The original volume, with
twenty stories, is still published by Kenedy, New York.

⸺ FATHER CONNELL. Pp. 358. [1840].

The scene is Kilkenny. The hero is an Irish country priest. The
character, modelled strictly (see Pref.) on that of a priest
well known to the author, is one of the noblest in fiction.
He is the ideal Irish priest, almost childlike in simplicity,
pious, lavishly charitable, meek and long-suffering, but
terrible when circumstances roused him to action. Interwoven
with his life-story is that of Neddy Fennell, his orphan
protégé, brave, honest, generous, loyal. Father Connell is
his ministering angel, warding off suffering and disaster,
saving him also from himself. The last scene, where, to save
his protégé from an unjust judicial sentence, Father Connell
goes before the Viceroy, and dies at his feet, is a piece of
exquisite pathos. There is an element of the sombre and the
terrible. But the greater part of the book sparkles with a
humour at once so kindly, so homely, and so delicate, that
the reader comes to love the Author so revealed. The episodes
depict many aspects of Irish life. The character-drawing is
masterly, as the best critics have acknowledged. There is Mrs.
Molloy, Father Connell’s redoubtable housekeeper; Costigan,
the murderer and robber; Mary Cooney, the poor outcast and her
mother, the potato-beggar; and many more. The Author faithfully
reproduces the talk of the peasants, and enters into their
point of view. Acknowledged to be the most pleasing of the
Banims’ novels.

⸺ THE GHOST HUNTER AND HIS FAMILY. (_Simms & M’Intyre_). [1833]. 1852.

Still published by P. J. Kenedy, New York: 75 cents. An
intricate plot skilfully worked out, never flagging, and with a
mystery admirably sustained to the end. Gives curious glimpses
of the life of the times (early nineteenth century), as seen
in a provincial town (Kilkenny). But the style often offends
against modern taste. The book soon turns to rather crude, if
exciting, melodrama. Moreover, though the Author is always on
the side of morality, there is too much about abduction, &c.,
and too many references to the loose morals of the day to make
it suitable reading for certain classes.

⸺ THE TOWN OF THE CASCADES. Two Vols. Pp. 283 + 283. (_Chapman & Hall_). 1864.

Scene: sea-board town in West. A powerful story in which the
chief interest is a tragedy brought about by drink. The town
seems to be Ennistymon, Co. Clare. The characters belong to the
peasant class, and of course are drawn with thorough knowledge.
The work could easily go in one not very large volume.

=“BAPTIST, Father”= _see_ =Mgr. R. B. O’BRIEN=.

=BARBOUR, M. F.=

⸺ THE IRISH ORPHAN BOY IN A SCOTTISH HOME. Pp. 87. (LONDON). [1866]. 1872.

“A sequel to ‘The Way Home,’ &c.” A little religious tract
(Protestant) in story form.

=BARDAN, Patrick.=

⸺ THE DEAD-WATCHERS. Pp. 83. (MULLINGAR: _Office of_ WESTMEATH GUARDIAN). 1891.

“And other Folk-lore Tales of Westmeath.” The author is a
member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries. Intended as a
contribution to folk-lore. But the title-story (54 pp.) is a
fantastic story told in melodramatic modern English, and has
little or no connexion with folk-lore. The remainder consists
of ghost stories, spirit-warnings, superstitions, chiefly of
local interest. Appended are a few explanatory notes of some
value.

=BARLOW, Jane.=

⸺ IRISH IDYLLS. Pp. 284. (_Hodder & Stoughton_). 6_s._ [1892]. Ninth ed. (N.Y.: _Dodd & Mead_). 2.00. 1908.

Doings at Lisconnell, a poverty-stricken little hamlet, lost
amidst a waste of unlovely bogland. These sketches have been
well described as “saturated with the pathos of elementary
tragedy.” Yet there is humour, too, and even fun, as in the
story of how the shebeeners tricked the police. The illustrated
edition contains about thirty exceptionally good reproductions
of photographs of Western life and scenery.

⸺ KERRIGAN’S QUALITY. Pp. 254. (_Hodder & Stoughton_). 6_s._ Eight Illustr. [1893]. (N.Y.: _Pratt_). 1.75. Second edition.

In this story the peasants only appear incidentally. The main
characters are Martin Kerrigan, a returned Irish-Australian;
the invalid Lady O’Connor; her son, Sir Ben; and her niece,
Merle. The story is one of intense, almost hopeless, sadness,
yet it is ennobling in a high degree. It is full of exquisite
scraps of description.

⸺ STRANGERS AT LISCONNELL. Pp. 341. (_Hodder & Stoughton_). 6_s._ [1895]. (N.Y.: _Pratt_). 1.75.

A second series of Irish Idylls, showing the Author’s
qualities in perhaps a higher degree even than the first. A
more exquisite story than “A Good Turn” it would be hard to
find. Throughout there is the most thorough sympathy with the
poor folk. The peasant dialect is never rendered so as to
appear vulgar or absurd. It is full of an endless variety of
picturesqueness and quaint turns. No problems are discussed,
yet the all but impossibility of life under landlordism is
brought out (see p. 15). There are studies of many types
familiar in Irish country life—the tinkers; Mr. Polymathers,
the pedagogue (a most pathetic figure); Mad Bell, the crazy
tramp; and Con the “Quare One.” It should be noted that, though
there is in Miss Barlow’s stories much pathos, there is an
entire absence of emotional gush.

⸺ MAUREEN’S FAIRING. Pp. 191. (_Dent_). Six Illustr., of no great value. [1895]. (N.Y.: _Macmillan_). 0.75.

Eight little stories reprinted from various magazines in a very
dainty little volume. Like all of Jane Barlow’s stories, they
tell of the “tear and the smile” in lowly peasant lives, with
graceful humour or simple, tender pathos. The stories are very
varied in kind.

⸺ MRS. MARTIN’S COMPANY. (_Dent_). Uniform with _Maureen’s Fairing_. [1896]. (N.Y.: _Macmillan_). 0.75.

“Seven stories, chiefly of a light and humorous kind, very
tender in their portrayal of the hearts of the poor. There
is a touching sketch of child-life and a police-court
comedy.”—(_Baker_).

⸺ FROM THE EAST UNTO THE WEST. Pp. 342. (_Methuen_). 1_s._ 8vo. Cloth. First ed., 1898; new ed., 1905.

The first six of this collection of fifteen stories are tales
of foreign lands—Arabia, Greece, and others. The remainder deal
with Irish peasant life. They tell of the romance and pathos
that is hidden in lives that seem most commonplace. “The Field
of the Frightful Beasts” is a pretty little story of childish
fancies. “An Advance Sheet” is weird and has a tragic ending.

⸺ FROM THE LAND OF THE SHAMROCK. Pp. 318. (_Methuen_). 5_s._ (N.Y.: _Pratt_). 1.75. 1900. (N.Y.: _Dodd & Mead_). 1.50.

Fourteen stories, some humorous, some pathetic, including some
of the author’s best work. There is the usual sympathetic
insight into the eccentricities and queernesses of the minds
of the peasant class, but little about the higher spiritual
qualities of the people, for that is not the author’s province.
Among the most amusing of the sketches is that which tells the
doings of a young harum-scarum, the terror of his elders.

⸺ THE FOUNDING OF FORTUNES. Pp. 335. (_Methuen_). 1_s._ Cloth. 8vo. [1902]. New ed. 1906.

The tale of how Timothy Galvin, a ragged urchin living in
a mud cabin and remarkable only for general dishonesty and
shrewd selfishness, is given a start in life by an ill-gotten
purse, and rises by his mother wit to wealth. The study of the
despicable character of the parvenu is clever and unsparing.
Other types are introduced, the landlord of the old type,
and two reforming landlords, who appear also in _Kerrigan’s
Quality_. The book displays Jane Barlow’s qualities to the full.

⸺ BY BEACH AND BOGLAND. Pp. 301. (_Fisher Unwin_). 6_s._ One Illustr. 1905.

Seventeen stories up to the level of the author’s best, the
usual vein of quiet humour, the pathos that is never mawkish,
the perfect accuracy of the conversations, and the faithful
portrayal of characteristics. The study in “A Money-crop
at Lisconnell,” of the struggle between the Widow M’Gurk’s
deep-rooted Celtic pride and her kind heart, is most amusing.
As usual, there are delightful portraits of children.

⸺ IRISH NEIGHBOURS. Pp. 342. (_Hutchinson_). 1907.

Seventeen stories of Irish life, chiefly among the peasantry.
They have all Miss Barlow’s wonted sympathy and insight, her
quiet humour and cheerful outlook.

⸺ IRISH WAYS. Pp. 262. (_George Allen_). 15_s._ Sq. demy 8vo. Sixteen Illustr. in colour. Headpieces to chapters. 1909.