Excerpt: "There never was a more unfounded calumny, than that which would impute to the Irish peasantry an indifference to education. I may, on the contrary, fearlessly assert that the lower orders of no country ever manifested such a positive inclination for literary acquirements, and that, too, under circumstances strongly calculated to produce carelessness and apathy on this particular subject." This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.

Excerpt: "Phelim O'Toole, who had the honour of being that interesting personage, an only son, was heir to a snug estate of half an acre, which had been the family patrimony since the time of his grandfather, Tyrrell O'Toole, who won it from the Sassenah at the point of his reaping-hook, during a descent once made upon England by a body of "spalpeens," in the month of August. This resolute little band was led on by Tyrrell, who, having secured about eight guineas by the excursion, returned...

Excerpt: "It was one summer morning, about nine o'clock, when a little man, in the garb and trim of a mendicant, accompanied by a slender but rather handsome looking girl about sixteen, or it may be a year more, were upon their way to the house of a man, who, from his position in life, might be considered a wealthy agriculturist, and only a step or two beneath the condition of a gentleman farmer, although much more plain and rustic in his manners. The house and place had about them that ch...

Excerpt: "Our readers are to suppose the Reverend Philemy M'Guirk, parish priest of Tir-neer, to be standing upon the altar of the chapel, facing the congregation, after having gone through the canon of the Mass; and having nothing more of the service to perform, than the usual prayers with which he closes the ceremony. "Take notice, that the Stations for the following week will be held as follows:— "On Monday, in Jack Gallagher's of Corraghnamoddagh. Are you there, Jack?" "To the fore, ye...

Excerpt: "If there be one object in life that stirs the current of human feeling more sadly than another, it is a young and lovely woman, whose intellect has been blighted by the treachery of him on whose heart, as on a shrine, she offered up the incense of her first affection. Such a being not only draws around her our tenderest and most delicate sympathies, but fills us with that mournful impression of early desolation, resembling so much the spirit of melancholy romance that arises from...

Excerpt: "There are some griefs so deep and overwhelming, that even the best exertions of friendship and sympathy are unequal to the task of soothing or dispelling them. Such was the grief of Ellen Duncan, who was silently weeping in her lone cottage on the borders of Clare—a county at that time in a frightful state of anarchy and confusion. Owen Duncan, her husband, at the period about which our tale commences, resided in the cabin where he was born and reared, and to which, as well as a ...

In "The Black Prophet," Carleton addresses the impact of the famine on the Irish population. The narrative revolves around the character of Mat Kavanagh, who gains a reputation as the "Black Prophet" due to his predictions of the famine's severity. The story explores the struggles and hardships faced by the Irish peasantry during this challenging period, capturing the desperation and suffering that characterized the era.Carleton's portrayal of the famine and its effects is both poignant an...

The Black Prophet centres upon an unsolved murder and the love affair between the niece of the victim and the son of his supposed killer, and the plot unfolds against the powerfully rendered background of the famine and typhus epidemic of 1817, which Carleton had witnessed at first hand. Yeats praised the novel's 'sombre and passionate dialogue', and said that 'all nature, and not merely man's nature, seems to pour out for me its inbred fatalism.' (Goodreads) This edition has been fully re...

In "Ellen Duncan; And The Proctor's Daughter," William Carleton intertwines themes of love, social class, and the tension between tradition and change, set against the backdrop of rural Irish life in the 19th century. Carleton employs a rich and evocative narrative style, blending dialect and detailed characterizations that illuminate the complexities of his characters' lives. The work embodies the Nationalist sentiments of the time, addressing the moral and social dilemmas faced by indivi...

Excerpt: "My great-grandfather was killed in the Revolution; my grandfather fought in the War of 1812; my father sacrificed his health in the Civil War; but I, though born in New England, am the first of my family to emigrate to this country—the United States of America. That sounds like a riddle or a paradox. It isn't; it's a plain statement of fact. As a matter of convenience let me call myself Carleton. I've no desire to make public my life for the sake of notoriety. My only idea in wri...

William Carleton's "The Hedge School; The Midnight Mass; The Donagh" serves as a poignant exploration of rural Irish life in the 19th century, offering readers a nuanced perspective on the socio-economic realities and cultural traditions of the period. Through his vivid storytelling and rich character development, Carleton delves into themes of education, religious practice, and community dynamics, encapsulating the struggles and triumphs of his protagonists amidst the backdrop of a deeply...

Excerpt: "The town of Castle Cumber it is not our intention to describe at more length than simply to say, that it consists of two long streets, intersecting each other, and two or three lanes of cabins—many of them mud ones—that stretch out of it on each side at right angles. This street, and these straggling appendages, together with a Church, a Prison, a Court-house, a Catholic chapel, a few shops, and half a dozen public houses, present to the spectator all the features that are genera...