The essence of the Emerald Isle is captured in this book, which introduces the reader to Irish literature as it reflects and illuminates the history and culture of the people of Ireland. William Dumbleton has painted an impressionistic portrait of the country and its literature, focusing, where it serves to bring out the essential pattern, on relevant or exemplary works by such writers as Maria Edgeworth, William Butler Yeats, James Plunkett, Sean O'Casey, John Synge, Liam O'Flaherty, James Joyce, and John McGahern.