This innovative new study examines the significance given to the country house in Ireland under the Union and how this is represented in the works of Edgeworth, Lever, Trollope, Martin and Somerville, Bowen and Lady Gregory. The Irish country house is set in a classical and European context as the centre for 'the good life' and the pinnacle of 'civilisation'. In Ireland, that inherited tradition was challenged by an alternative culture nominated as 'savage'. This book explores how the Irish country house was the focus of conflict between and symbiosis of 'civilisation' and 'savagery'.
M. Kelsall
bibliography culture Europe Ireland knowledge tradition British and Irish Literature
'Prof Kelsall's book is an authoritative work of considerable research. It is not aimed at a wide audience, although those with a serious interest in the culture of the country house will find much to illuminate and guide their reading.' - Country Life