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1. Introduction -- 2. Elizabeth Griffith: Celebrating and Extending the Irish Anglican Dramatic Tradition -- 3. The Portraits of the English in the Work of Dion Boucicault, Bram Stoker, and Erskine Childers -- 4. Charlotte Brooke’s Impact on Ascendancy Women Writers from Maria Edgeworth to Lady Gregory -- 5. C.S. Lewis and the Irish Literary Canon -- 6. Gradations of Class Among Irish Anglicans in Leland Bardwell’s Girl on a Bicycle. “This is both an authoritative handbook to the particular hybrid culture of Irish Anglicans, and an illuminating series of case studies of often overlooked Irish writers from the 18th to 20th centuries. With a refreshing emphasis on women writers, Clare examines the intertwined influences of nation and religion, and gives new insight into writers whose work is central to any canon of Irish literature.” -Emilie Pine, University College Dublin “The introduction to David Clare’s lively and accessible study makes the case that a nuanced and sympathetic view of Irish Anglican writers such as Lady Gregory and Leland Bardwell (whose political and ethnic affiliations have often been suspiciously scrutinized from a nationalist perspective) can contribute to shaping an inclusive society increasingly made up of hybrid subjects. The book as a whole offers thought-provoking insights, for both general and specialist readers, into the work of a wide range of well-known writers (Gregory, C. S. Lewis, Shaw), as well as enabling readers to discover almost forgotten figures such as the 18th-century playwright Elizabeth Griffith.” -Clíona Ó Gallchoir, University College Cork This book discusses key works by important writers from Church of Ireland backgrounds (from Farquhar and Swift to Beckett and Bardwell), in order to demonstrate that writers from this Irish subculture have a unique socio-political viewpoint which is imperfectly understood. The Anglican Ascendancy was historically referred to as a “middle nation” between Ireland and Britain, and this book is an examination of the various ways in which Irish Anglican writers have signalled their Irish/British hybridity. “British” elements in their work are pointed out, but so are manifestations of their proud Irishness and what Elizabeth Bowen called her community’s “subtle … anti-Englishness.” Crucially, this book discusses several writers often excluded from the “truly” Irish canon, including (among others) Laurence Sterne, Elizabeth Griffith, and C.S. Lewis. David Clare is Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Studies at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. He previously held two IRC-funded postdoctoral fellowships at NUI Galway, Ireland. His books include the monograph Bernard Shaw’s Irish Outlook (2016) and the edited collection The Gate Theatre, Dublin: Inspiration and Craft (2018).
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