Emily Lawless
Encyclopedia
Emily Lawless was an Irish
novelist and poet from County Kildare.
, Ardclough
, County Kildare
. Her grandfather was Valentine Lawless
, a member of the United Irishmen and son of a convert from Catholicism to the Church of Ireland. Her father was Edward Lawless, 3rd Baron Cloncurry (d. 1896), thus giving her the title of "the Honourable". In contrast her brother Edward Lawless was a landowner with strong Unionist opinions, a policy of not employing Roman Catholics in any position in his household, and chairman of the Property Defence Association set up in 1880 to oppose the Land League and "uphold the rights of property against organised combination to defraud". Horace Plunkett was a cousin. It is widely believed that she was a lesbian and that Lady Sarah Spencer, dedicatee of A Garden Diary (1901) was her lover.
She spent part of her childhood with the Kirwans of Castlehackett, County Galway
, her mother's family, and drew on West of Ireland themes for many of her works. She occasionally used ‘Edith Lytton’ as pen name.
poems. Her books were:
County Clare
which was read by William Ewart Gladstone
and said to have influenced his policy. It deals with the theme of Irish hostility to English law. In the course of the book a landlord is assassinated, and Hurrish's mother Bridget, refuses to identify the murderer, a dull witted brutal neighbour.
It described the Burren Hills as 'skeletons—rain-worn, time-worn, wind-worn—starvation made visible, and embodied in a landscape.' The book was criticised by Irish-Ireland journals for its 'grossly exaggerated violence', its embarrassing dialect, staid characters. According to The Nation 'she looked down on peasantry from the pinnacle of her three generation nobility'.
Her reputation was damaged by William Butler Yeats
who accused her in a critique of having 'an imperfect sympathy with the Celtic nature’ and for adopting 'theory invented by political journalists and forensic historians.' Despite this Yeats included With Essex in Ireland and Maelcho in his list of the best Irish novels.
as a technique. Gladstone mistook it for an authentic Elizabethan document.
Her seventh book, Grania, about “a very queer girl leaping and dancing over the rocks of the sea” examined the misogynism
of an Aran Island
fishing society.
'An unflagging unionist, she recognised the rich literary potential in the native tradition and wrote novels with peasant heroes and heroines, Lawless depicted with equal sympathy the Anglo-Irish landholders,' Betty Webb Brewer wrote in the Irish American Cultural Institute
's journal Éire/Ireland in 1983.
Two of the poems including "Clare Coast" (source of the above lines) and "After Aughrim" were included by the editors of The Oxford Book of Irish Verse (1958).
in Dublin.
A book of criticism on Lawless--Emily Lawless (1845-1913): Writing the Interspace by
Heidi Hansson—was published in 2007 by Cork University Press.
'Troublesome Subjects: History, Nature and Gender in the Irish Writings of Emily Lawless' by
Michael O'Flynn, D.Phil thesis, University of Sussex, 2005 British Library.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
novelist and poet from County Kildare.
Biography
She was born at Lyons House below Lyons HillLyons Hill
Lyons Hill is a restored village, and former parish with church, now part of the community of Ardclough in north County Kildare. At a time when canal passenger boats travelled at Lyons was the nearest overnight stop to Dublin on the Grand Canal. On the hilltop is a trigonometrical point used by...
, Ardclough
Ardclough
Ardclough, officially Ardclogh , is a village and community in the parish of Kill County Kildare, Ireland, two miles off the N7 national primary road. Amongst its buildings today are a national school, a church, Ardclough GAA Club, and one shop "Buggys". Ardclough also contains the historic round...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
. Her grandfather was Valentine Lawless
Valentine Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry
Valentine Brown Lawless, 2nd Baron Cloncurry , was an Irish politician and landowner. He lived in Lyons, under Lyons Hill Ardclough County Kildare.-Birth:...
, a member of the United Irishmen and son of a convert from Catholicism to the Church of Ireland. Her father was Edward Lawless, 3rd Baron Cloncurry (d. 1896), thus giving her the title of "the Honourable". In contrast her brother Edward Lawless was a landowner with strong Unionist opinions, a policy of not employing Roman Catholics in any position in his household, and chairman of the Property Defence Association set up in 1880 to oppose the Land League and "uphold the rights of property against organised combination to defraud". Horace Plunkett was a cousin. It is widely believed that she was a lesbian and that Lady Sarah Spencer, dedicatee of A Garden Diary (1901) was her lover.
She spent part of her childhood with the Kirwans of Castlehackett, County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, her mother's family, and drew on West of Ireland themes for many of her works. She occasionally used ‘Edith Lytton’ as pen name.
Writings
Emily wrote 19 books of fiction, biography, history, nature studies and poetry, many of which were widely read at the time. She is most famous nowadays for her Wild GeeseWild Geese
Wild Geese may refer to:* Wild Geese , a war poem by Walter Flex, a later song is popular in airborn units* Wild Geese , Irish soldiers who served in European armies after being exiled from Ireland...
poems. Her books were:
- A Chelsea Householder (1882)
- A Millionaire's cousin (1885)
- Ireland(1885)
- Hurrish (1886)
- Major Lawrence FLS (1887)
- With Essex in Ireland (1890)
- Grania (1892)
- Maelcho (1894)
- Plain Frances Mowbray and Other Tales (1889)
- A Colonel of the Empire (1895)
- Traits and Confidences (1898)
- Atlantic Rhymes & Rhythms (1898)
- A Garden Diary (1901)
- With The Wild Geese (1902)
- Maria EdgeworthMaria EdgeworthMaria Edgeworth was a prolific Anglo-Irish writer of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the novel in Europe...
(1904) - Book of Gilly (1906)
- The Point of View (1909)
- The Race of Castlebar (1914) - co-authored with Shan Bullock
- The Inalienable Heritage (1914)
Hurrish
Some critics identify a theme of noble landlord and noble peasant in her fourth book, Hurrish, a Land War story set in the BurrenBurren
Burren can refer to:*The Burren, a karst landscape in County Clare, Ireland*Burren, County Down, a village in Northern Ireland*Burren College of Art, an art college in Ballyvaughan, County Clare, Ireland*Burrén and Burrena, twin hills in Aragon, Spain...
County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
which was read by William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and said to have influenced his policy. It deals with the theme of Irish hostility to English law. In the course of the book a landlord is assassinated, and Hurrish's mother Bridget, refuses to identify the murderer, a dull witted brutal neighbour.
It described the Burren Hills as 'skeletons—rain-worn, time-worn, wind-worn—starvation made visible, and embodied in a landscape.' The book was criticised by Irish-Ireland journals for its 'grossly exaggerated violence', its embarrassing dialect, staid characters. According to The Nation 'she looked down on peasantry from the pinnacle of her three generation nobility'.
Her reputation was damaged by William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
who accused her in a critique of having 'an imperfect sympathy with the Celtic nature’ and for adopting 'theory invented by political journalists and forensic historians.' Despite this Yeats included With Essex in Ireland and Maelcho in his list of the best Irish novels.
Essex and Grania
Her historical novel With Essex in Ireland was better received and was ahead of its time in developing the unreliable narratorUnreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
as a technique. Gladstone mistook it for an authentic Elizabethan document.
Her seventh book, Grania, about “a very queer girl leaping and dancing over the rocks of the sea” examined the misogynism
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
of an Aran Island
Aran Island
Aran Island can refer to several places:*Arranmore or Aran Island off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland*Aran Islands in Galway Bay in Ireland*Isle of Arran, one of the islands of the lower Firth of Clyde in Scotland...
fishing society.
'An unflagging unionist, she recognised the rich literary potential in the native tradition and wrote novels with peasant heroes and heroines, Lawless depicted with equal sympathy the Anglo-Irish landholders,' Betty Webb Brewer wrote in the Irish American Cultural Institute
Irish American Cultural Institute
The Irish American Cultural Institute, or IACI, is an American cultural group founded by Dr. Eoin McKiernan in 1962. It specialises in recording aspects of Irish culture. It also sponsors research and awards prizes in the field of Irish Studies...
's journal Éire/Ireland in 1983.
With the Wild Geese
Unusually for such a strong Unionist, her Wild Geese poems (1902) became very popular and were widely quoted in nationalist circles, especially the lines:- War-battered dogs are we,
- Fighters in every clime;
- Fillers of trench and of grave,
- Mockers bemocked by time.
- War-dogs hungry and grey,
- Gnawing a naked bone,
- Fighters in every clime
- Every cause but our own
Two of the poems including "Clare Coast" (source of the above lines) and "After Aughrim" were included by the editors of The Oxford Book of Irish Verse (1958).
Legacy
Her papers are in Marsh's LibraryMarsh's Library
Marsh's Library, situated in St. Patrick's Close, adjacent to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland is the oldest public library in Ireland. It was built to the order of Archbishop Narcissus Marsh in 1701 and has a collection of over 25,000 books and 300 manuscripts.-Foundation:The library was...
in Dublin.
A book of criticism on Lawless--Emily Lawless (1845-1913): Writing the Interspace by
Heidi Hansson—was published in 2007 by Cork University Press.
External links
(only The Story of Ireland)'Troublesome Subjects: History, Nature and Gender in the Irish Writings of Emily Lawless' by
Michael O'Flynn, D.Phil thesis, University of Sussex, 2005 British Library.