Showing results by narrator "T. P. McKenna" in All Categories

The Irish are arguably the most literate people in the world. The number of famous Irish authors, from Joyce to Trevor and from Goldsmith to O'Brien, is a clear testimony to that. In this rich selection, we have concentrated on some of the early Irish writers who were particularly adept at the difficult art of writing good short stories.

Novelist, playwright and screenwriter James Follett wrote over 25 novels, more than 50 radio dramas and numerous TV scripts, including several episodes of Blake’s 7. He was one of the most borrowed authors in UK libraries, and his works have been translated into over a dozen languages. This anthology includes his finest radio plays and series – including many that have never previously been available before. Framing the collection is the special BBC7 programme Men, Martians and Machines, in which Follett himself introduces us to several of his most popular pieces.

William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Born in Dublin, a leader of the Irish Renaissance, he dreamed of creating a new cultural identity for his country. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. This compelling collection spans his career.

The short stories of Irish writers appeal to audiences far beyond the shores of Eire. These stories, in turn atmospheric, spookily funny, full of intriguing characters, picturesque, and touching, are steeped in the Irish delight in story-telling and cover an intriguing century of Irish city and country life.

James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born in 1882 in Dublin but spent most of his life living with Nora Barnacle in various parts of Europe. Apart from a collection of verse, Dubliners was his first published work in 1914. In Dubliners, Joyce portrays quite brilliantly human relationships in Ireland at the turn of the century. His characters are so vital and exciting and the stories so fresh, evocative, and entertaining that they could well have been written today.