Buy used £5.02

FREE delivery 17 - 19 August. Details

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by betterworldbooksltd

Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

See this image

Follow the author

R. F. Foster

The Irish Story: Telling Tales and Making it Up in Ireland Hardcover – 25 Oct. 2001

by R.F Foster (Author)

4.8 14 ratings

See all formats and editions

Each of Foster's books has generated vigorous discussion, but in THE IRISH STORY he breaks fresh ground even by his own standards. Driven by his sense of the seriousness of history and a fascination with those who distort it, THE IRISH STORY examines how key facets of Ireland's past have been tampered with to serve a multiplicity of purposes. THE IRISH STORY is endlessly varied, surprising and funny. It is also a rallying cry for those anxious that contemporary Ireland may be in danger ofturning itself into a meretricious historical theme-park.

Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Allen Lane
Publication date

25 Oct. 2001
Dimensions

16.6 x 2.7 x 24.1 cm
ISBN-10

0713994975
ISBN-13

978-0713994971
See all details

Highest ratedin this set of productsThis item:
R.F Foster
14
Hardcover
11 offers from £2.79
Best Selling | Lowest Pricein this set of products
Professor R F Foster
162
Paperback
£14.23
Professor R F Foster
128
Paperback
21 offers from £6.49
R. F. Foster
6
Paperback
£16.00

Product description

Amazon Review

No historian has done more to unravel, question and undermine Irish nationalist historiography than Roy Foster, award-winning biographer of WB Yeats. His revisionism will now be refuelled with the The Irish Story. It is often said that the Irish know too much history, as opposed to too little; or rather they know too much one-sided history. Mythical versions of conflict in the past have a nasty habit of getting in the way of peace and reconciliation in the present. In a dozen separate studies, most of which began life as reviews and lectures, Foster mounts a further onslaught on the morose and partisan manner in which the Irish past (especially that of the Republic) continues to be memorialised. He surveys popular histories, the emergence of professional Irish historiography, historical theme-parks (the macabre phenomenon of "faminism"), Angela's Ashes, Gerry Adams' autobiography and the recent commemoration of the 1798 rising. Throughout he offers an elegant and forceful corrective to those who seek to locate Ireland within a simplistic narrative of exploitation and suffering. A good deal of the book is devoted to Yeats and there are essays on Trollope, Elizabeth Bowen and Hubert Butler too--all writers for whom Ireland and England were not opposite poles, but sites of complex identity and inspiration. This leaves one wondering where Roy Foster himself sits--like Yeats, on the border, "advantaged by the duality of the emigrant existence"--or simply on the fence, enjoying the age-old academic sport of debunking? In a book devoted to invented traditions and the politics of memory the author has left himself out of the story. --Miles Taylor

About the Author

R.F. Foster is Carroll Professor of Irish History at Oxford University. His books include MODERN IRELAND 1600-1972, PADDY AND MR PUNCH and the first volume of W.B. YEATS: A LIFE. In 2000 he was a Booker Prize judge.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen Lane; First Edition (25 Oct. 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0713994975
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0713994971
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.6 x 2.7 x 24.1 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 755,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 427 in Historical Essays, Journals, Letters & True Accounts
- 3,124 in History of Ireland
- 6,074 in Essays, Journals & Letters

Customer reviews:
4.8 14 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

R. F. Foster

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

14 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Sparrow Kelly

Intriguing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 June 2023

Verified Purchase

An eminent historian provides a series of though provoking and at times humorous essays on the use and abuse of storytelling in the development of Irish culture.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2013

This is a collection of articles that Foster has written about the Irish and their literature. It looks at various views of Ireland with an unprejudiced eye. It is a good corrective to some of the more received opinion on various writers. It is good to have Foster's views on Elizabeth Bowen , Frank Mc court etc. it is a pity that the UK does not have such a writer/ historian such as this.

One drawback is that ,as ever with books of this sort, there are pieces which do not resonate but generally a thought provoking book on Ireland and its writers.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Baby Cromwell

The pin that bursts a lot of bubbles

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2008

Pleasant revelation, January 26, 2008
By Baby Cromwell "Baby Cromwell" (Nottingham, England) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book immensely, but probably for the wrong reasons. The book is a bit chewy in places, but stick with it, as it's surprisingly enjoyable on it's own merits. On a more selfish, sadistic note, I had been mecilessly bludgeoned on a regulary basis by a work colleague, a second generation descendant of the Emerald Isle, with tales of Celtic martyrdom and Anglo tyranny, and none of which I felt I had the right to dispute. Then I read the book. After ten minutes of lively debate, challenging all he knew as 'fact', he has not spoken to me since. No-one had ever shut him up before. Heaven. But back to the point, I found this to be a rather good read, but I can see how it would make uncomfortable folk who like to bask in a kind of sacred cow-like grievence mythology. Recommended.

Baby Cromwell

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

paul callick

SO much here!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 July 2022

Verified Purchase

Another great book by Foster, on historians and the different histories written about Ireland. As usual it's smart, funny and scholarly all at once. A fine hardback too. In perfect condition

Helpful

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	DPReview Digital Photography	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Follow the author

The Irish Story: Telling Tales and Making it Up in Ireland Hardcover – 25 Oct. 2001

What do customers buy after viewing this item?

Product description

Amazon Review

About the Author

Product details

About the author

R. F. Foster

Customer reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.