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    Strumpet City: Bestselling Irish novel with an introduction by Fintan O'Toole
    Unavailable
    Strumpet City: Bestselling Irish novel with an introduction by Fintan O'Toole
    Unavailable
    Strumpet City: Bestselling Irish novel with an introduction by Fintan O'Toole
    Ebook716 pages10 hours

    Strumpet City: Bestselling Irish novel with an introduction by Fintan O'Toole

    By James Plunkett

    4.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Centring on the seminal lockout of 20,000 workers in Dublin in 1913, Strumpet City by Irish writer James Plunkett encompasses a wide sweep of city life. From the destitution of "Rashers" Tierney, the poorest of the poor, to the solid, aspirant respectability of Fitz and Mary, the priestly life of Father O’Connor, and the upper-class world of Yearling and the Bradshaws, it paints a portrait of a city of stark contrasts, with an urban working class mired in vicious poverty. Strumpet City is much more than a book about the Lockout. Through the power of vivid fiction we encounter all the complexities of humanity. The brilliant and much-loved TV series, originally screened by RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, in 1980, is fondly remembered by many but to read the book is to immerse yourself in social and historical writing akin to Chekhov and Tolstoy. Strumpet City is the great, sweeping Irish historical novel of the 20th century.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGill Books
    Release dateFeb 22, 2013
    ISBN9780717155651
    Unavailable
    Strumpet City: Bestselling Irish novel with an introduction by Fintan O'Toole
    Author

    James Plunkett

    James Plunkett Kelly, or James Plunkett (21 May 1920 - 28 May 2003), Irish novelist, playwright, broadcaster. Born in 1920 in Dublin's inner city, was the son of a World War I veteran who was a member of Jim Larkin's Irish Transport and General Workers Union, which had a life-long impact on the young writer. Plunkett drew on his city centre working-class background, and his commitment to the labour movement, as the background for his fiction. Strumpet City is acknowledged as his masterpiece. His other novels include Farewell Companions, The Gems She Wore and The Circus Animals. He was an accomplished short story writer and also wrote for radio and for the theatre. During the 1960s, Plunkett worked as a producer at Telefís Éireann. He won two Jacob's Awards, in 1965 and 1969, for his TV productions. He was a member of Aosdana. President of Irish Academy of Letters.

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    Reviews for Strumpet City

    4.5/5

    4 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book could hardly be described as a literary masterpiece, but it is as fine as fiction comes below that standard.This book haunted me at a personal level for some time. Underlining the plot is a simple message- all people are fundamentally decent except that misfortune and the various vices that can befall a personality contort that decency until it is barely recognisable. This is a story of alcoholism, isolation, poverty, social prejudice: anything that corrodes what is good in people. But still the author sews a plot together with the thread of decency that remains.
    • 4/5
      A hard hitting story set in pre first war Dublin. The interleaved stories of several people rich and poor. Depicts grinding poverty in a very telling way. Reminds me of 'Ragged Trousered Philanthropist' but is better written and with a stronger story.Good but depressing - should come with a health warning for when one is already out of sorts.
    • 4/5
      Definitely a page-turner. Full of flawed realistic characters. Gives a good sense of how people survived (and often didn't) desperate times and how popular the monarchy was prior to 1916.
    • 3/5
      A good book of historical fiction set in Dublin and focusing on the Lockout of 1913. There are characters from all walks of life and the story relayed is realistic. The plight of the poor can not possibly leave the reader unmoved. In the foreground you have a set of fictional characters, in the background the well-known Jim Larkin. My complaint is that you can easily sort the characters into two groups - the villains and the heroes.The bottom line: I felt I ought to be more engaged than I was.
    • 5/5
      Full of insight, character and incident, efficiently and elegantly told. I was afraid at the outset that it was going to be a thesis masquerading as a novel, but it is a fine piece of making.