The Oxford History of the Irish Book, Volume V: The Irish Book in English, 1891-2000

This book charts one of the most venerable book cultures in Europe, from the earliest manuscript compilations to the flourishing book industries of the late twentieth century. It offers a history of the Irish book as a created object situated in a world of communications, trade, transport, power, and money, and examines the ways in which books have both reflected and influenced social, political, and intellectual formations in Ireland. It is an important project for the understanding of Ireland’s written and printed heritage, and is by its nature of profound cross-cultural significance, embracing as it does all the written and printed traditions and heritages of Ireland and placing them in the global context of a worldwide interest in book histories. Books have played a role of key importance in shaping Ireland’s twentieth century cultural and political heritage. This volume charts that heritage from the beginnings of the Literary Revival in the 1890s to the end of the twentieth century. Part One consists of general survey chapters which examine developments in the cultures of Irish reading and publishing during the twentieth century. Part Two examines some of the thematic issues raised in these survey chapters, including the financial and market factors governing the Irish book trade; the concerns of Irish regional publishing; the creation and reception of Irish books in the United States and Australia; censorship; the Irish book in the informatics age; and publishing for Catholic Ireland. Part Three is concerned with assessing the specific achievements of some of Ireland’s most culturally significant publishing houses.