A Twisted Root
Ancestral Entanglements in Ireland
Published on 31. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-0-85640-904-2 (ISBN)
Description
A beautifully written Irish memoir about an extraordinary family.
From the author's great-grandmother Katherine Rose, who made her way from Stratford-upon-Avon to Lisburn as part of the Plantation of Ulster, and her forebear William Blacker, who founded the Orange Order, to her great-uncles Frank, Matt, Gerry and Jimmy Tipping, who were all active in nationalism in the 1920s, this astonishing cast of characters brings Irish history to life.
'My direct and indirect forebears are a wonderfully heterogenous lot - down and up the social scale (mostly down), in and out of church and chapel, Lurgan Papes and Wexford Prods, hanged and hangmen, street-brawlers and scholars, full-blown Orangemen and republican activists.'
From the author's great-grandmother Katherine Rose, who made her way from Stratford-upon-Avon to Lisburn as part of the Plantation of Ulster, and her forebear William Blacker, who founded the Orange Order, to her great-uncles Frank, Matt, Gerry and Jimmy Tipping, who were all active in nationalism in the 1920s, this astonishing cast of characters brings Irish history to life.
'My direct and indirect forebears are a wonderfully heterogenous lot - down and up the social scale (mostly down), in and out of church and chapel, Lurgan Papes and Wexford Prods, hanged and hangmen, street-brawlers and scholars, full-blown Orangemen and republican activists.'
Reviews / Votes
...a memorable, dense account of a vanished way of life, a social history, a bid for restoration, and a brilliant memoir -- Irish Times brilliantly drawn characters and scenes ... a testament of the triumph of quiet intelligence -- Aisling Foster a well written and entertaining exploration of her tangled roots This engrossing and discursive memoir... will surely take its place in the canon of contemporary Ulster literature. -- Edna O'Brien a lesson in human history and a story which will, no doubt, spur many readers to discover their own 'ancestral entanglement' a montage of memory and imagination a fascinating account of of the weirdly interconnected story of her ancestry astonishing cast of charaters creates a compelling portrait of a family and brings Irish history to life a thought provoking studyMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Colourpoint Creative Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 213 mm
Width: 135 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-85640-904-2 (9780856409042)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Patricia Craig is from Belfast. She moved to London in the 1960s but always retained strong links with her native city, returning to live in Northern Ireland in 1999. A leading literary critic and anthologist, she regularly contributes to the Independent, London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, Irish Times and New Statesman, and has appeared on various television and radio programmes. She has edited many anthologies, including The Rattle of the North (Blackstaff, 1992), The Belfast Anthology (Blackstaff, 1999) and The Ulster Anthology (Blackstaff, 2006), and is the author of two memoirs, Asking for Trouble and A Twisted Root.