Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-06T10:51:33.167Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 16 - Gaelic Influences and Echoes in the Irish Novel, 1700–1780

from Part V - Transcultural Contexts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2020

Moyra Haslett
Affiliation:
Queen's University Belfast
Get access

Summary

This essay explores the nature, extent, and significance of Gaelic influences and echoes in a range of Irish novels published between 1700 and 1780. Most Irish novels published in that period were written by Protestants, whose first language was English and many of whom had limited, if any, access to primary sources in the Irish language. In addition, many early Irish novels were published, at least initially, in London and frequently addressed to English readers with little knowledge of, or interest in, Irish history or contemporary affairs. Nevertheless, there are notable exceptions, as some Irish novels - Irish Tales (1716); Gulliver’s Travels (1726); The Life of John Buncle, Esq. (1756); and The Fool of Quality; or, The History of Henry, Earl of Moreland (1765) draw on beliefs and traditions associated with Irish-language culture in ways that illuminate both the diversity and the particularity of early Irish fiction. Direct reference and oblique allusion to Irish history, traditions, and culture within these novels not only facilitated the correction of Anglophone misapprehensions about Ireland and the Irish but also illuminates interactions between the worlds of the Irish-speaking majority and the Protestant elite in eighteenth-century Ireland.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×