Extract

James Plunkett. Strumpet City. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1969.

Eilís Dillon. Across the Bitter Sea. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1973.

Lia Mills. Fallen. Dublin: Penguin Ireland, 2014.

Academic historians are spoilsports when it comes to historical fiction. My personal pain threshold is reached when a character before 1970 who is neither an anthropologist nor a mental health professional uses the words “emotional” or “sibling.” Others have different priorities, but perhaps we should get over ourselves. Academics do not own the past, and historical novels are part of what Raphael Samuel calls “the activity of history,” which encompasses everything from scrutinizing old family photograph albums to reenacting battles.1 So, while this review evaluates three Irish historical novels mainly from the point of view of somebody who has learned, researched, written, and taught history in various third-level institutions for over four decades, it accepts that there are other, equally valid ways of appreciating them.

You do not currently have access to this article.