‘[A] rich, stylish and immersive epic’ Irish Independent‘Deeply researched and fascinating’The Guardian‘[Rory Carroll is] an exceptionally gifted storyteller’ Max Hastings‘A gripping read’ The i Paper‘A thrilling account of one of the most unpredictable, memorable and poignant figures in our history’ Irish Times

He handed the easel to the boatman, reaching down the pier wall towards the sea.Mr Lloyd has decided to travel to the island by boat without engine - the authentic experience.Unbeknownst to him, Mr Masson will also soon be arriving for the summer. Both will strive to encapsulate the truth of this place - one in his paintings, the other with his faithful rendition of its speech, the language he hopes to preserve.But the people who live here on this rock - th...

William Butler Yeats was born in Sandymount in County Dublin, Ireland on 13th June 1865.His early years moved between Ireland and England. By his mid-teens he was writing but those works were described as ‘entirely Un-Irish’. With Ernest Rhys he founded the Rhymers Club. Based at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in Fleet Street it’s best described as a drinking club for performing poets. Yeats later cited them as ‘The Tragic Generation’. By now Yeats was writing and publishing poetry and st...

Throughout the long centuries of human history is the want, and the need, to share information, to exchange ideas and for that knowledge and experience, for curiosity and learning, to be the basis of a civil society.In literature the ambition is much narrower. In order to be known, to be popular, you had to be published. And for that people had to know you existed and your ideas worth reading. Obviously for most of humanity’s time people couldn’t read and texts couldn’t be publishe...

The bookshelves of British literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From these Isles their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them are Somerville & Ross - the writing pseudonym for Edith Somerville & Violet Florence Martin Sidney Benson Thorp.

Writing can be a lonely art. Distractions and writers block are just two of the many impediments to a burnished stream of prose. But sometimes two heads really can be better than one. When one author decides to team up with another, either occasionally or full time, their new creations seem to amplify and encourage the words and ideas of each writer, helping to create narratives that are both new, and perhaps beyond the scope of just one of them. Collaborating and sounding off of one anoth...

Published in 1820 and written by the Protestant curate Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer is considered one of the greatest works of Gothic literature. Consisting of a series of stories within stories, the narrative features the scholar John Melmoth, condemned to wander the earth in search of a victim to take his place and free him from his eternal torment. His journey takes us from the late 17th to the early 19th centuries, as he attempts to lure those who are in the most perilous of c...

The bookshelves of European literature are incredible collections that have gathered together centuries of very talented authors. From this continent their fame spread and whilst among their number many are now forgotten or neglected their talents endure. Among them is Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory.

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poet...

THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLERTWICE WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR'A masterpiece' Sunday Times'Stunning' LIZ NUGENT'Extraordinary' Irish TimesTom Kettle, a retired policeman, and widower, is settling into the quiet of his new home in Dalkey, overlooking the sea.His solitude is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask ...

The cat. Independent when it wants and making us dependent on its whims when it deems. Cats are first thought of as being domesticated in the Near East in about 7500 BC. A few thousand years later in Ancient Egypt they are worshipped as gods. From a domestic cat’s point of view this is pretty much the life they want and that some cats lead right now.Their larger cousins whether in forest, savannah, mountains or desert were fated for their speed, strength, beauty, feline powers and ...

'Louise Hegarty can do anything. She's fearless. And I loved these playful, clever, perfect stories' - MARIANA ENRIQUEZ**'Phenomenally talented' - *THE SUNDAY TIMES'*Borges for the CMAT generation' - THE IRISH TIMESAre you ready to play?**Have you ever found yourself doom-scrolling, worrying about that weird pain in your leg, only to have your plans for the day completely trashed by the appearance of a literal axe-wielding troll?