Why read Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890-1939?

Book cover of Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890-1939

Book description

A balanced attempt to come to grips with the problems of the Irish body politic and with the seeds of those problems in the more recent past.

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European history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890-1939 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Roy Foster

Author

I first encountered this book as a series of lectures in Oxford in 1978 and was riveted.

Lyons faced head-on the themes of cultural and sectarian antagonism in Ireland from the death of the constitutionalist nationalist leader Parnell in 1891 to independent Ireland’s decision to remain neutral in World War II, using sources that were as much literary as political, and at the end projecting the divisions in Irish society forward to the then-current violence in the North. The tone was notably acerbic, even verging towards despair, but also employing bitter humour.

A great historian, he died prematurely a…

From Roy's list on The most illuminating books about the turbulent relationship between Ireland and England.