No Laughing Matter: The Life and Times of Flann O’Brien

No Laughing Matter: The Life and Times of Flann O’Brien image
ISBN-10:

1848407149

ISBN-13:

9781848407145

Author(s): Cronin, Anthony
Edition: 3rd New edition
Released: Apr 26, 2019
Publisher: New Island Books
Format: Paperback, 392 pages
to view more data

Description:

Flann O'Brien was born Brian O'Nolan in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, in 1911. He worked as a civil servant in Dublin for eighteen years, but as Myles na Gopaleen, his alter ego, he was the author of 'An Béal Bocht' and the legendary and hilarious column in 'The Irish Times', 'Cruiskeen Lawn'. 'At Swim-Two-Birds', his first novel, appeared in 1939 and was lauded by James Joyce, Graham Greene, Dylan Thomas and others. But his second, 'The Third Policeman', failed to find a publisher, and for many years Flann O'Brien wrote no more fiction in English, languishing as a cult figure in a city then regarded as a backwater. 'The Third Policeman' has since been acknowledged as one of the most important novels to come out of Ireland in the twentieth century but by the time he was rediscovered, Flann was drinking heavily and in poor health. He died 'rather unexpectedly', on 1 April 1966. Anthony Cronin's 'No Laughing Matter' was the first full-length biography of Flann O'Brien. Rich in background, anecdote and social history, it is an extraordinary portrait of a writer and his times, perceptive, sympathetic and authoritative. Kevin Barry's new foreword illuminates the importance of these two giants of Irish Literature.

Low Price Summary






Top Bookstores


























We're an Amazon Associate. We earn from qualifying purchases at Amazon and all stores listed here.

DISCLOSURE: We're an eBay Partner Network affiliate and we earn commissions from purchases you make on eBay via one of the links above.

Want a Better Price Offer?

Set a price alert and get notified when the book starts selling at your price.

Want to Report a Pricing Issue?

Let us know about the pricing issue you've noticed so that we can fix it.