Marked by names such as W. B. Yeats, James Joyce and Patrick Pearse, the decade 1910-1920 was a period of revolutionary change in Ireland, in literature, politics and public opinion. What fed the creative and reformist urge besides the circumstances of the moment and a vision of the future? The leading experts in Irish history, literature and culture assembled in this volume argue that the shadow of the past was also a driving factor: the traumatic, undigested memory of the defeat and death of the charismatic national leader Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-1891). The authors reassess Parnell's impact on the Ireland of his time, its cultural, religious, political and intellectual life, in order to trace his posthumous influence into the early twentieth century in fields such as political activism, memory culture, history-writing, and literature.

The run-up to Irish independence (1910-1920) was driven by the need to come to terms with Parnell's defeat and death.

About the Author
Joep Leerssen is Professor of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam. His books Mere Irish and Fior-Ghael (1986) and Remembrance and Imagination (1996) helped establish the specialism of Irish Studies. His comparative work on national (self-)stereotyping and cultural nationalism earned him the Spinoza Prize in 2008. He is also the editor of the Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe (2018).

Reviews
'... most of the contributions are solid, insightful, and sometimes brilliant ... it is a volume well worth reading.' John McCourt, James Joyce Quarterly



Book Information
ISBN 9781108495264
Author Joep Leerssen
Format Hardback
Page Count 338
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 600g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 160mm * 22mm