Books by "James S. Donnelly, Jr"
4 books found
This is the first comprehensive study of the neglected Irish writers of the Victorian age, whose work was highly popular with the British reading audience and therefore disparaged and largely forgotten from the era of W.B. Yeats and the Irish Literary Revival, with its culturally nationalist agenda, onwards. It is based on a reading of around 370 novels by 150 authors, including William Carleton, the peasant novelist who wielded much influence, and Charles Lever, whose serious work was destroyed by the slur of 'rollicking', as well as Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, George Moore, Emily Lawless, Somerville and Ross, Bram Stoker, and three of the leading authors from the new-woman movement, Sarah Grand, Iota, and George Egerton. James H. Murphy examines their writing in a variety of contexts: the political, economic, and cultural developments of the time; the vicissitudes of the reading audience; the realities of a publishing industry that was for the most part London-based; the often difficult circumstances of the lives of the novelists; and the ever changing genre of the novel itself, to which Irish authors often made a contribution. Politics, history, religion, gender and, particularly, land, over which nineteenth-century Ireland was deeply divided, featured as key themes for fiction. Finally, the book engages with the critical debate of recent times concerning the supposed failure of realism in the nineteenth-century Irish novel, looking for deeper causes than have hitherto been offered and discovering occasions on which realism turned out to be possible.
Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) is a method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. As author James Speer notes, trees are remarkable bioindicators. Although there are other scientific means of dating climatic and environmental events, dendrochronology provides the most reliable of all paleorecords. Dendrochronology can be applied to very old trees to provide long-term records of past temperature, rainfall, fire, insect outbreaks, landslides, hurricanes, and ice storms—to name only a few events. This comprehensive text addresses all of the subjects that a reader who is new to the field will need to know and will be a welcome reference for practitioners at all levels. It includes a history of the discipline, biological and ecological background, principles of the field, basic scientific information on the structure and growth of trees, the complete range of dendrochronology methods, and a full description of each of the relevant subdisciplines. Individual chapters address the composition of wood, methods of field and laboratory study, dendroarchaeology, dendroclimatology, dendroecology, dendrogeomorphology, and dendrochemistry. The book also provides thorough introductions to common computer programs and methods of statistical analysis. In the final chapter, the author describes “frontiers in dendrochronology,” with an eye toward future directions in the field. He concludes with several useful appendixes, including a listing of tree and shrub species that have been used successfully by dendrochronologists. Throughout, photographs and illustrations visually represent the state of knowledge in the field.
Finalist, American Conference for Irish Studies James S. Donnelly, Sr., Prize for Books on History and Social Sciences Abject Loyalty challenges the view that Irish nationalists were necessarily hostile to the British monarchy. During Queen Victoria's reign, royal visits to Ireland were in fact generally met with great enthusiasm. Indeed, the strength of the opposition of some Irish nationalists to the monarchy was a sign of the purchase that it seemed to have on the allegiance of many people within nationalist Ireland. By the 1880s, however, the monarchy had become the focus for British imperial identity in England and for the denial of constitutional legitimacy to those in Ireland who wished for home rule. It began to face increasing opposition in Ireland both because nationalist politicians feared its influence might reconcile Irish people to the Union with Britain and because enthusiasm for monarchy in Ireland was used to feed a British discourse which saw Ireland as a country that could be appeased by concessions short of home rule and which did not take nationalist demands seriously. The book traces Ireland's interaction with the British monarchy from King George III to Queen Elizabeth II but focuses on the reign of Queen Victoria. It deals with its topic on two levels. It explores Queen Victoria's interaction with Ireland and her influence on British policy towards Ireland. And it examines how Queen Victoria and monarchy were perceived in Ireland. Whereas Queen Victoria's views and actions have previously been subject to historical analysis, no previous study has seriously explored how she was perceived in Ireland or the subtleties of nationalism's attitude towards monarchy. Abject Loyalty makes a significant and original contribution to the political and cultural history of Ireland and will be of interest to those concerned with understanding the historical development of Irish identity. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: James H. Murphy is professor of English at All Hallows College in Dublin and the author or editor of numerous works, including Catholic Fiction and Social Reality in Ireland, 1873-1922, and Gender Perspectives in Nineteenth-Century Ireland (coedited with Margaret Kelleher). PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "Murphy's book is a comparative rarity--a book that genuinely explores a fresh theme and does so in an entirely original fashion. . . . His analysis changes the context for interpreting the nationalist movement in Ireland and is a must for anyone interested in the Irish during this vital era."--Prof. Alan O'Day, Mansfield College, Oxford "Well-written and provocative. . . A creative, well-written, and significant book that undoubtedly will take a deserved place within the vast historiography of nineteenth-century Ireland. More than that, it is essential reading for any scholar interested in the evolution of Irish nationalism or Anglo-Irish high politics in the Victorian age."--American Historical Review "By bridging the gulf between Anglo-Irish politics and culture, Abject Loyalty provides a fresh take on the history of nineteenth-century Anglo-Irish relations, and Murphy deftly brings to light an aspect of Irish culture that provide to be equally difficult for both nationalists and pro-Union politicians to appropriate."--History "[A] clearly-written and worthwhile study."--Frank A. Biletz, Loyola University Chicago, Albion