Front Matter; Contents; Acknowledgements; List of Contributors; Foreword by Colm Toíbín; Introduction; Endnotes; CHAPTER 1; HEARTFELT NARRATIVES: MARY LAVIN'S LIFE AND WORK; Endnotes; CHAPTER 2; MASCULINITIES IN MARY LAVIN'S SHORT STORIES; Endnotes; CHAPTER 3; DISCONTINUITIES: TALES FROM BECTIVE BRIDGE ANDTHE MODERNIST SHORT STORY; Endnotes; CHAPTER 4; THEATRICAL TRENDS IN MARY LAVIN'S EARLY STORIES; Endnotes; CHAPTER 5; 'TRYING TO GET THE WORDS RIGHHT': MARY LAVIN AND THE NEW YORKER; Endnotes; CHAPTER 6; THE IRISH-AMERICAN DIMENSION OF MARY LAVIN'S STORIES; Endnotes; CHAPTER 7
BLIND FAITH ANDCLASSDISTINCTIONS IN MARY LAVIN'S 'THE SMALL BEQUEST' AND 'THE MOCK AUCTION'Endnotes; CHAPTER 8; 'I HAD ALWAYS DESPISED HIM A LITTLE': PLUMBING THE DEPTHS OF FEELING IN MARY LAVIN'S TWO IRISH NOVELS; Endnotes; CHAPTER 9; FAMILY AND COMMUNITY IN MARY LAVIN'S GRIMES STORIES; Endnotes; CHAPTER 10; THE MYSTERY OF'THE YELLOW BERET': MARY LAVIN AND THE ART OF SHORT FICTION; Endnotes; CHAPTER 11; 'STRANDED OBJECTS': TOPOGRAPHIES OF LOSS IN MARY LAVIN'S WIDOW STORIES; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index
Ever since the publication of her first collection, Tales from Bective Bridge, in 1942, Mary Lavin has been praised for admirably capturing, in intense and lucid stories, the social and psychological reality of mid-20th-century Ireland. Yet, Lavin's sharp insight into the quiet tragedies and joys of human life easily transcends its immediate context, and her work continues to appeal to contemporary readers, both in Ireland and abroad. To celebrate the recent centenary of Mary Lavin's birth, this collection honors one of the leading figures of the Irish short story tradition. Leading critics
