Head of the Family

The head of the family is Roger Mallon, grand old man of Irish letters, who has not published a line in over forty years. Living with him in his big house in Dublin are his children and grandchildren, all under the sway of his authority. When he opens his secret diaries to a visiting American scholar, the jealousies and tensions festering in the household are laid bare.\nReveling how the sins of the father are visited on succeeding generations, Eilís Dillon skillfully portrays the sinister nature of her characters. The head of the family is a masterpiece of artful construction and ironic perception.