Read Ireland Book Review
Issue 231
Behaving Badly: The Life of Richard Harris 1930-2002 by Cliff Goodwin
Hardback; 32.00 Euro / 38.00 USD / 25.00 UK; 268 pages, with two 8-page photo inserts [Add To Basket]
Richard Harris was never an easy person to get along with. He was a difficult schoolboy (and was later disowned by his Limerick teachers), and then he went to work in the family flour and milling business - where he organized a strike against his father. His teenage dreams of becoming a professional rugby player were shattered when he contracted tuberculosis. In 1953 he arrived in London to train as an actor with just 21 pounds in his pocket and his father's words ringing in his ears: 'Go. For God's Sake, go.'
It was as a gifted and compelling actor that Richard Harris dominated stage and screen for more than four decades. He was nominated for an Oscar twice: for his earthy portrayal of a rugby player in 'This Sporting Life' and as a dominant and bullish Irish farmer in 'The Field'. More recently he delivered gripping screen performances in 'Gladiator' and two 'Harry Potter' films.
But it was his violent, drunken, womanising private life that fed the public myth and made Harris, one of the new breed of rogue male actors, an international celebrity. Married and divorced twice, with three sons - two actors, one a film director - he claimed the only time he had been miscast was as a husband. His lovers included legends such as Merle Oberon, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner and Vanessa Redgrave.
This book tells the whole story!
Roger Casement: The Black Diaries by Jeffrey Dudgeon
Hardback; 40.00 Euro / 47.00 USD / 33.00 UK; Belfast Press, 656 pages [Add To Basket]
For the first time, all Roger Casement's 'Black Diaries' are here publisher together, including the erotically-charged 1911 Diary over which London threatened an obscenity prosecution, thus preventing earlier publication. This volume provides both a comprehensive view of the texts, with explanations for many of the cast of characters, famous, infamous, and fleeting, and a context for the author whose significant and seminal role in the political development of independent Ireland has been masked by the debates over these diaries and their 'authenticity'. It is a uniquely fresh and original look at the Irish patriot and humanitarian, hanged in 1916.
The book also deals with the neglected sides of Casement's life: his involvement in Ulster politics; his family background in Co. Antrim; his Belfast boyfriend Millar Gordon; and the sociopathic Norwegian sailor, Adler Christensen, as well as providing a full account of the authenticity controversy.
Roger Casement had iconic status in life, and, after death, was sanctified and vilified in equal measure. His real self was consequently obscured. This book combines a rigorous academic study of Casement, the public and political figure alongside an account of his personal life, sexuality, and consular career, and an informed view of how these aspects originated and interlocked. It also gives a fresh assessment of the events of the Easter Rising, and an up-to-date account of the controversies that have swirled around Casement to this day, including the attempts made in Dublin, from the 1930s, to threaten the truth about the Black Diaries.
Dublina: The Story of Medieval Dublin by Howard Clarke, Sarah Dent and Ruth Johnson
Hardback; 20.00 Euro / 23.50 USD / 16.50 UK; O'Brien Press, 130 pages, full-colour throughout [Add To Basket]
The mysteries of life in medieval Dublin are revealed in this lively and richly illustrated book. From the birth of the walled medieval city in the twelfth century to the reign of Henry VIII and the Reformation in 1540, surviving documents and key archaeological finds tell the story of both Dublin's elite and ordinary citizens. Maps, plans and a fascinating scale-model reveal the spread and nature of the small walled city. Few buildings survive today since much of the city was constructed of wood. Those that do survive, such as Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral, have been much altered down through the ages. Remnants of the old city wall remain, but only one of the minor gateways, St. Audeon's Arch, is still standing. The ships docked where land was reclaimed, and the shape of the rivers and harbour was vastly different from today.
Faced with the spectres of the Black Death, invasion or massacre, religious faith held sway over the city. Dubliners sought to govern themselves, punishing crimes and misdemeanors with fines, the lock-up and the stocks. The craft guilds grew in size, number and power. Plying their wares amidst the bustle of the streets were the scribe, the barber-surgeon, the brewer, the spicer, the armourer and many more. With the clink of pennies, the merchants traded at the quayside and at Dublin's international fair.
This vividly illustrated book presents all the sights, sounds and smells of a bustling medieval city.
An Irish Roadside Camera: The Years of Growth 1907-1918 by Bob Montgomery
Hardback, 30.00 Euro / 35.00 USD / 25.00 UK; 120 pages, with black-and-white photos throughout [Add To Basket]
This book is the second volume of an illustrated history of motoring in Ireland. The pioneering years of motoring quickly passed and the motor car moved into its adolescence as the first decade of the twentieth century progressed. From being a sporting curiosity of the privileged few to a veritable maid-of-all-work took but a few short years and by the start of the Great War in 1914 the automobile had found a role in all aspects of Irish life, and become relatively commonplace, even in the remoter parts of Ireland.
All Things Considered by Mary Coll
Paperback; 10.00 Euro / 12.50 USD / 8.50 UK; 46 pages [Add To Basket]
This is a collection of poems, which explores relationships, what can be resolved and what can hardly be understood. It is a journey through the various ties that bind, which turns each one over like a series of photographs to form a lyrical collage of the emotional life.
The Abbey Theatre 1899-1999: Form and Pressure by Robert Welch
Paperback; 32.50 Euro / 38.50 USD / 24.50 UK; 280 pages [Add To Basket]
First published in 1999, this book is the definitive and authoritative history of Ireland's prestigious Abbey Theatre. It mixes accounts of the theatre's artistic directors with synopses of the major plays and gives a good idea of the controversies and debates they inspired. It contains a record of the days of Yeats, Synge and O'Casey when the new was revolutionary, and of the reflections on contemporary change that inform the best work of Tom Murphy and Brian Friel.
Maire Mhic Ghiolla Iosa: Beathaisneis by Ray Mac Manais
Hardback; 25.00 Euro / 30.00 USD / 20.00 UK; 416 pages [Add To Basket]
Toghadah Maire Mhic Ghiolla Iosa ina hUachtaran ar Eirinn sa bhliain 1997, an chead Ultach san Aras. Is I an chead bhean I a ceapadh ina Leas-Seansaileir Cunta ar Ollscoil na Banriona agus an chead Chaitliceach a ceapadh ina Stiurthoir ar Chomhairle ar Leinn Dli I mBeal Feirste. Roimhe sin chaith si treimhsi ag obair mar iriseoir raidio agus teilifise le RTE, ina hOllamh I mBeal Feirste. Is scribhneoir I chomh maith.
Neil Jordan: Exploring Boundaries by Emer & Kevin Rockett
Paperback; 30.00 Euro / 35.00 USD / 23.00 UK; 315 pages [Add To Basket]
Neil Jordan is unquestionably Ireland's most versatile, prolific and successful film director whose work, both in terms of his fiction writing and film, has achieved international acclaim and recognition. His films include, The Company of Wolves, Mona Lisa, The Crying Game (for which he won an Oscar award), Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins and The Butcher Boy. Jordan lives in Ireland, and while his work often engages with Irish subjects, he addresses at once more universal and more intimate themes such as the interrelation of private sexuality and politics or society, obsession and the nature of desire, and transformation and identity. As the book's title suggests, the authors argue that central to Jordan's work is an exploration and challenging of boundaries and borders. This is evident not just in film terms in that he has worked in and across many genres and in different production contexts, but in the various thematic concerns of his diverse films. Just as he plays with the seemingly exclusive realms of reality and fantasy, of which the latter in ultimately favoured, so, too, does his work balance word and image, or narrative tightness and visual pleasure. Above all, he creates sumptuous and sensuous worlds of synergy which, thematically and narratively layered, are open to multiple critical interpretations. This book is the first full-length study of Jordan's creative output and offers a contextualised reading of each of his films as well as situating them in relation his literary work.
The Best of Irish Home Baking by Biddy White Lennon
Paperback; 7.95 Euro / 10.00 USD / 5.00 UK; 80 pages [Add To Basket]
Bread lies at the heart of the Irish baking tradition, and the range of breads, scones, tarts, cakes and biscuits still baked every day in Irish homes is truly enormous. Possible the best known is brown bread - unique to every cook - the recipe often a closely guarded secret. Over fifty tempting recipes select the best from the tradition and include soda breads, potato and griddle breads, gur cake, porter cake, barm brack and Christmas cake, buttermilk scones, tarts, puddings and oaten biscuits. They will delight visitors and family alike. Details of customs, folklore and Irish regional food traditions provide a fascinating background to the recipes. Thirty-five charming illustrations complete the mix.
Read Ireland Bookstore
392 Clontarf Road
Clontarf, Dublin 3
Ireland
Tel + Fax: +353-18-302-997
Customer Services Comments, Criticism and Questions
Subscribe to Read Ireland Book News - Our Free Weekly Email Newsletter