was published in 1886, in Edinburgh, by Blackwood and Son. Its subtitle –
A Study– reflects the wealth of detail which the novel provides in its descriptions of the Burren region of Co. Clare, peasant
mentalité, political unrest, and the Irish constabulary and judiciary. Furthermore, the narrator offers numerous asides on Anglo-Irish relations and makes predictions of the “coming Irish Republic” (81). Many contemporary British reviewers remarked that the novel had the effect of “explaining” Ireland to them: Gladstone wrote that Lawless had made present to her readers “as a living reality, the estrangement of the people of Ireland from the law” (qtd. in Hansson 69).
Irish reviewers focused on the verisimilitude of the novel’s portrayal of peasant communities.
2076 words
Citation: Smith, Catherine . "Hurrish". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 February 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34889, accessed 23 November 2024.]
