Autobiography: Drums Under the Window v. 3 (Autobiography / Sean O'Casey)

Each volume in the evocative and richly entertaining autobiography of Sean O'Casey is essential reading for a proper appreciation of this major Irish dramatist whose plays were among the most exciting developments in modern drama. Born in the back streets of Dublin, suffering from weak and diseased eyes, he lived in poverty and physical hardship for many years. In his late teens he became a manual labourer, and after work- ing on the roads or in the docks from five in the morning to six at night he would spend his evenings helping the cause of the Gaelic League and Sinn Fein. He became Secretary of the Irish Citizen Army and a founder member of the Irish Labour Party. Although his first published work was in 1907, not until the success of Juno and the Pay cock in 1925 did he give up manual work and become a full-time writer. Here are a nationalist's views of his country and countrymen from 1906 to that 'rare time of death in Ireland' - Easter, 1916. From his stay in hospital came people and incidents for The Silver Tassie, and out of his personal experiences of Dublin ' during the Rising arose The Plough and the Stars.