Ireland in Mind

From Oscar Wilde to James Joyce, from Virginia Woolf to Frank McCourt: three centuries of Irish, English, and American writers in search of the real Ireland. From the editor of the outstandingly popular Italy in Mind comes another superb collection: three centuries of fiction, poems, and essays, from both Irish expatriates and non-Irish visitors. From the comic terror of Frank McCourt's First Communion to the raucous pagan festival Muriel Rukeyser attended in County Kerry in the 1930s; from John Betjeman's lyrical evocation of a ruined abbey in the mist to Eric Newby's hilariously disastrous bicycle trip through Ireland; from William Trevor's gentle Irish clergyman encountering the long angry reach of his country's past tragedies to Brian Moore's wistful return from a life spent in exile, this anthology offers a kaleidoscope of this mysterious, elusive country. For travelers of all kinds, for those who have long been fascinated by Ireland and those who are feeling its lure for the first time, Ireland in Mind will provide a rich and rewarding imaginative journey. Contributors also include: Samuel Beckett, Wallace Stevens, Oliver Goldsmith, Jonathan Swift, Edna O'Brien, Paul Theroux, V.S. Pritchett, Anthony Trollope, George Bernard Shaw, T.H. White