The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories

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Ireland has always been a nation of story-tellers: tall stories, simple stories, stories of mystery and wonder, of love and violence form part of Irish conversation as naturally as passing the time of day. What began as both entertainment and communication through the spoken word grew into a literary form that no other country can match. ‘The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories’ triumphantly demonstrates that development, from the early folk-tales of the oral tradition [here translated from the Irish] through Oliver Goldsmith and Maria Edgeworth to James Joyce and Liam O’Flaherty and the rising stars of the next generation.

William Trevor has been described as ‘perhaps the finest short-story writer in the English language’, and he brings a special sensibility and awareness to his role as editor. All the stories in this selection ‘have been influenced by a culture that made much of the fiction it could best absorb’. They are ‘the distillations of an essence’, in whose subtleties portraiture thrives. Some derive their strength from brevity, others require a considerable spread to achieve their effect. Trevor does not eschew the long short story, as distinct from the novella, so the masterly ‘Albert Nobbs’ by George Moore is accorded its place, and William Carleton, Sheridan Le Fanu, Seumas O’Kelly, and James Joyce are all given the space their writing deserves.

The roots of the modern short story in Ireland are firmly embedded in the soil of the past, and in this wonderful anthology echoes and influences pervade individual stories to enrich our understanding of a unique literary tradition.