The Oxford History of the Irish Book, Volume V The Irish Book in English, 1891-2000

by Hutton, Clare; Walsh, Patrick

• ISBN13: 9780199249114
• ISBN10: 0199249113
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-08-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Oxford History of the Irish Bookis a major new series that charts one of the most venerable book cultures in Europe, from the earliest manuscript compilations to the flourishing book industries of the late twentieth century. For the first time, it offers a history of the Irish book as a created object situated in a world of communications, trade, transport, power, and money, and examines the ways in which books have both reflected and influenced social, political, and intellectual formations in Ireland. It is an important project for the understanding of Ireland's written and printed heritage, and is by its nature of profound cross-cultural significance, embracing as it does all the written and printed traditions and heritages of Ireland and placing them in the global context of a worldwide interest in book histories. Books have played a role of key importance in shaping Ireland's twentieth century cultural and political heritage.Volume V: The Irish Book in English 1891-2000charts that heritage from the beginnings of the Literary Revival in the 1890s to the end of the twentieth century. Part One consists of general survey chapters which examine developments in the cultures of Irish reading and publishing during the twentieth century. These chapters cover four specific periods, divided as follows: 1891-1921 covering the Literary Revival, and the often turbulent developments which led to the partition of the island; 1922-1939 looking at the social, economic and political machinations of print culture amidst an atmosphere of intense cultural conservatism, and during the so called economic 'war'; 1939-1969 examining the difficulties which Irish publishers continued to face, as well as the popular trends of reading 'Westerns'; 1969-2000 looking at the renewal of the Irish publishing industry, and the growth of cultural self-confidence which came about as literary censorship receded into the past. Part Two examines some of the thematic issues raised in these survey chapters, including the financial and market factors governing the Irish book trade; the concerns of Irish regional publishing; the creation and reception of Irish books in the US and Australia; censorship; the Irish book in the informatics age; and publishing for Catholic Ireland. Part Three is concerned with assessing the specific achievements of some of Ireland's most culturally significant publishing houses, and includes chapters on Gill and Macmillan; the Cuala Press; Maunsel and Company; the Dolmen Press; the Gallery Press and Blackstaff Press. This section also includes chapters on two British firms which have done much to support Irish writers: Macmillan and Faber. The book concludes with a bibliographical chapter outlining 'Sources for Irish Book History, 1891-2000'. This is the first attempt to comprehensively outline the history of twentieth century Irish book culture, and will be the standard guide for many years to come.

Author Biography

Clare Hutton is Lecturer in English at Loughborough University, and has published in the field of twentieth century Irish book history, and Irish literature. She was educated at the Universities of London, Dublin and Oxford, and has held appointments in Cambridge and London. She currently holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship, and is undertaking research on the genesis of Joyce's Ulysses.

Patrick Walsh is Senior Lecturer in Education at Queen's University Belfast, and has published on various topics relating to education and curriculum formation in Ireland.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	p. xx
Notes on Contributors	p. xxii
Introduction	p. 1
The Cultures of Irish Publishing And Reading
Publishing the Irish Cultural Revival, 1891-1922	p. 17
Reading and the Irish Revival, 1891-1922	p. 43
Publishing after Partition, 1922-39	p. 70
Reading Revolutions, 1922-39	p. 89
'Some measure of vocation': Publishing in Ireland, 1939-69	p. 108
From Tucson to Television: Irish Reading, 1939-69	p. 128
'Our Literary History in the Making': The Persistence of the Literary Press, 1969-2000	p. 152
'Anything about Ireland?': Reading in Ireland, 1969-2000	p. 180
Thematic Surveys
An Eye to Business: Financial and Market Factors, 1895-1995	p. 209
Publishing for Catholic Ireland	p. 244
Funding Literary Enterprise and Publishing in Ireland	p. 264
A Dark Chapter: Censorship and the Irish Writer	p. 285
Parochial, National, and Universal: The Concerns of Irish Regional Publishing	p. 304
The Political Economy of Irish School Books	p. 335
Books for Irish Children	p. 367
The Iconic Book in Ireland, 1891-1930	p. 390
The Irish Book in the United States: An Overview	p. 413
The Harp in the South: Reading Ireland in Australia	p. 440
'The Medium is the Message'; The Irish Book in the Informatics Age	p. 462
Publisher Case Studies
'Our Irish Canon Your Irish Canon': Macmillan's Irish List, 1899-1968	p. 481
M. H. Gill, later Gill and Macmillan	p. 511
'This terrible struggle with want of means': Behind the Scenes at the Cuala Press	p. 529
The Extraordinary History of the House of Maunsel	p. 548
Faber and Irish Literature	p. 562
'A Hazardous Venture': The Dolmen Press	p. 576
The Gallery Press	p. 592
The Blackstaff Press	p. 612
Sources
Sources for Irish Book History, 1891-2000	p. 629
Irish Books Banned under the Censorship of Publications Acts,1929-67	p. 644
The Macmillan Archive and Irish Writers	p. 650
Minding Other People's Business: Literary Agents in Ireland since 1986	p. 657
Bibliography	p. 662
Index	p. 701
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