Kirjahaku

Born in England into a unionist family, the artist Frances Georgiana Chenevix Trench became an ardent nationalist and quickly involved herself in the movement for Home Rule and political freedom in Dublin. Before the outbreak of the First World War, Cesca, as she was known, attended art school in Paris, where she associated with students from other small countries seeking freedom. Her passion for Ireland influenced her art, her love life, and her relations with her unionist family. Cesca’s seven manuscript journals, originally written in Irish, English, and French, have been translated and set in the context of their times by Hilary Pyle. Heavily illustrated with her portrait sketches of friends and associates in the movement, as well as examples of her oil paintings and pastels, the book is a fascinating account of a young woman in early twentieth-century Ireland.

Kate Cullen’s lively memoir is a riveting account of the close-knit life of Protestant Ireland, a society absorbed in its own triumphs and misfortunes, in its religion and fashions, and yet conscious that history was being made. During the 1840s; Cullen lived in Dublin, staying for periods in Sligo, Donegal, and Leitrim. A witness to the Famine, she remembered her experiences so vividly that around 1900, her daughter, Susan L. Mitchell, then a budding writer, persuaded her to dictate them. Cullen’s memoir has an additional importance in the background that it reveals about Mitchell, one of the leading figures of the Irish literary revival, later distinguished as a poet and friend of Yeats, AE, and Seumas O’Sullivan.

Described by W. B. Yeats as "the nearest approach they have to a true poet," Susan Mitchell (1866–1926) was an active and valued member of Dublin society. Originally from Carrick-on-Shannon and raised by Unionist aunts in Dublin, she rebelled against privileged society and the Protestant Church in which she was raised. By a trick of fate, Mitchell exchanged her life as a gentlewoman in provincial Ireland for that of a journalist working on progressive publications in Dublin, where she gained a reputation for lampooning contemporary politics and the literary world. Pyle provides readers a glimpse of her satirical commentary and singular perspective on Dublin’s tumultuous years.

First published in 1965, James Stephens: His Work and an Account of His Life offers an intimate portrait of Stephens, tracing his journey from the vibrant streets of Dublin to the bustling literary circles of London. Through two distinct parts, Pyle explores Stephens' evolution as a writer and thinker. In Part I, the book delves into his formative years in Dublin (1880–1925), examining his youthful inspirations, early writings, and the profound influence of William Blake and Theosophy on his work. It also highlights Stephens' passionate engagement with Irish nationalism, the Irish language, and his contributions to Irish epic literature. Part II shifts to Stephens' later years in London (1925–1950), where his philosophical musings deepened, his poetry matured, and his voice resonated through lectures in America and broadcasts back home. Pyle captures the essence of Stephens' final philosophy, his creative endeavors, and his enduring impact on Irish and international literature. This book is an essential resource for anyone seeking to understand the life, work, and legacy of James Stephens.