Themed Read July 2022: Irish Authors and Settings

Welcome to our July 2022 Themed Read.

This thread is going up a little early to give everyone who wants to join in the chance to have their books lined up and ready to read.

Our theme this month is IRISH AUTHORS AND SETTINGS.

There are some lovely possibilities this month and so here, without further ado, is the list:

The Beth Book by Sarah Grand (#20)

Unsocial Socialist by G. Bernard Shaw (#28)

The Rising Tide by Molly Keane (#137)
Devoted Ladies by Molly Keane (#138)
Two Days in Aragon by Molly Keane (#193)
Mad Puppetstown by Molly Keane (#194)
Full House by Molly Keane (#232)
Loving Without Tears by Molly Keane (#286)
Young Entry by Molly Keane (#324)
Treasure Hunt by Molly Keane (#356)
Conversation Piece by Molly Keane (#368)
The Knight of Cheerful Countenance by Molly Keane (#388)
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane (#474)
Time After Time by Molly Keane (#475)
Loving and Giving by Molly Keane (#476)

Mary Lavelle by Kate O'Brien (#139)
That Lady by Kate O'Brien (#168)
Without My Cloak by Kate O'Brien (#233)
The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien (#287)
The Ante-Room by Kate O'Brien (#325)
The Last of Summer by Kate O'Brien (#349)

Never No More by Maura Laverty (#169)
No More Than Human by Maura Laverty (#210)

Women in the Wall by Julia O'Faolain (#170)

Mary O’Grady by Mary Lavin (#209)
The House in Clewe Street by Mary Lavin (#266)

The Fly on the Wheel by Katherine Thurston (#265)

Tea at Four O’Clock by Janet McNeill (#275)

The Wild Geese by Bridget Boland (#285)

The Wind Changes by Olivia Manning (#302)

All of Us There by Polly Devlin (#496)

Hungry Hill by Daphne du Maurier (#535)

Damage by Josephine Hart (#558)
Sin by Josephine Hart (#559)

Our emphasis is on Virago Modern Classics but you are welcome to read any other book in keeping with the theme and the Virago ethos this month.

What will you be reading?

Thanks Jane! This may be a harder one for me this month as I'm not sure if any of these are on my TBR - I shall have a rummage!

Me too. I don't enjoy Molly Keane and I've read most of the others listed. As a compromise I might read the last of my J G Farrell books Troubles, all of which I have in NYRB editions.

I have The fly on the wheel and one or two of the Kate O'Brien's on Mount TBR, so I shall read those.

I'm short of unread Irish Viragos, but if I can find my copy of 'Tea at Four O'Clock' I shall read that.

Oh I'm going to have to duck out of this one! Have fun with it, all!

When I finish The Fortnight in September I will read Hungry Hill.

I've read all of the Molly Keane books that I want to read (I love her, but some of her books just haven't worked for me). So this month I'm going to revisit Kate O'Brien. The Last of Summer looks like a good choice.

I started Troubles by J G Farrell last night. Not a Virago and not a woman, but hopefully still a little in spirit with the month's reading assignment.

I found my copy of Tea at Four O'Clock, read it over the weekend and was very impressed.

I have to catch up with a few library books now but I hope to start re-reading Kate O'Brien later this month.

>10 BeyondEdenRock: I read Tea at Four O'Clock in May for one of our other themes, and thought it was excellent.

Likewise, I just finished Kate O'Brien's The Last of Summer. It's only my second O'Brien (the other being Without my Cloak), and both have been 4.5-star reads for me.

>11 lauralkeet: Without My Cloak was the first Kate O'Brien book I read, so it is the first one I plan to re-read.

I just finished The fly on the wheel which was very good, both as a psychological novel and as a portrait of middle-class life in turn of the century Ireland. I felt that the attraction between the main characters was plausible, as were the reactions to those around them.

I may read The ante-room next.

I finished Troubles by J G Farrell, as my compromise Irish read. The other books I've read by him, The Singapore Grip and The Siege of Krishnapur were - IMO - works of genius. This one... not so much. Another reader described it as 'whacky but depressing', and I have to agree. All three books are about British colonialism, but Troubles didn't work for me.

I've just started reading The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth (1812). Edgeworth (Belinda, Castle Rackrent) was an Anglo-Irish author, and I am a little surprised that she hasn't been published by Virago, as I feel she fits right in.

The story centers around an "absentee" Irish land-owning family who live in London. Now falling deeply into debt while neglecting their tenants in Ireland, their son Lord Colambre refuses to marry an heiress to save the family fortunes. He leaves London to visit (incognito) the family estates in Ireland, where he will learn for himself how the lands are managed and the tenants are treated.

So far, so good--Lord Colambre has just arrived in Dublin, so am anxious to find out what happens next.

I read Good Behaviour by Molly Keane. This story about impoverished Anglo-Irish gentry during the first part of the 20th century was really good. Aroon--the narrator and the daughter of the house--is a fascinating character. I have another by Keane, Mad Puppetstown, which I look forward to reading soon.

>16 NinieB: I thought Good behaviour was excellent! I'm really enjoying The ante-room although I want to smack some of the characters!

>16 NinieB: Good Behaviour is my favorite Molly Keane (although I've enjoyed most of her books).