Help from people who read a lot or who have traveled to GB/Ireland.....

[Mrs.Clayton]

Hi all....it's been suggested to me that since I'm going to GB/Ireland this fall, I should read novels/non-fiction books about that area. That way, I'll have a "heads up" about the history/troubles/culture of the area....
small problem...I don't really know where to start.
Books about Ireland are a bit easier to find, but Scotland/Wales books aren't the easiest things to locate at the library. I don't want travel books(I already have those)I really need novels that depict daily life in those regions. I can't even think of authors that have written about those areas.
If any of you know of any books that can help me with this, I'd appreciate it!
Thanks!
Mrs.Clayton

 

[mad1]

Hey Mrs Clayton!

Are u coming to the North at all? Or staying South?

 

[Mrs.Clayton]

I don't know Maddie....I've heard it's not a trip to Ireland unless you visit both the north and south.

 

[DiGi]

ask Elizabeth. She is an amazing source on this type of stuff at least in terms of history and fokelore.

If you want you can checkout the pics from our trip last august for an idea of places to go on my website:

http://www.15five.com/ireland2001/

[This message has been edited by DiGi (edited 05-15-2002).]

 

[Peaseblossom]

Well, read up on Jack the Ripper before you go to London- they have a lot of great spooky tours that go along with that. If you're planning on going to Edinburgh, read Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, then go to Decon Brodie's Tavern, where the author met the man who inspired the story.

 

[jkayet]

In college, I studied in Ireland for a semester. I'm trying to think of what we read in my Irish lit class there...some John McGahern (Amongst Women), Patrick McCabe, Brian Friel is a great playwright (Translations is good)...if you are interested in poetry - Seamus Heaney, Yeats (of course)

, Eavan Boland, John Montague...ummm...if I remember anything else, I'll let you know - that's all I can think of now

 

[Lilly]

I am soo all over this!

Some of my favorite books explaining 'The Troubles' *shudder* are:

The Damnable Question by George Dangerfield
and

How The Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.


My most favorite source of course is my Grandpa

If you want good literature, I'd go with James Joyce...a true favorite of mine.

If you want to read lots of Irish history in one spot, I'll send you the paper I did on it. Lemme know.

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I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel so I learned to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

 

[Mirrorball Girl]

I enjoyed reading "Dubliners" before I went to Ireland. The last story, "The Dead," was my favorite.

I can't offer much in the way of Scotland/Wales, however. Well, one of my favorite authors, Kate Atkinson, is British and lives in Scotland I believe ... her most recent book, "Emotionally Weird," was set in Scotland. (If I remember correctly.) I recommend her books in any case, though.

The first two are set in England. (I think. Gah, I need to read these again!)

------------------
I used to think
As birds take wing
They sing through life so why can't we?

?Poetry doesn?t belong to those who write it; it belongs to those who need it.?

 

[scatteroflight]

Reading the Sherlock Holmes stories is perfect for going to London. I was a 17 year old obsessed Holmes fanatic when I visited England. He's everywhere in London--that is, places associated with him are everywhere.



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See the bird with the leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out

 

[Desert Rose]

Well I do enjoy Joyce/Heaney/Wilde, but for a bit of fun I'd recommend McCarthy's Bar which is really entertaining and says a lot about the so called "tradicional" irish thing. You can get that one via Amazon.com.

 

[zooropamanda]

For me being a lover of Shakespeare going to London was fabulous.
London has a lot of literary walks and tours you can do. There was a wonderful Shakespeare one that took you across the Thames to The Globe Theatre.

I've been to Ireland twice and adore the place so my thoughts are from there Im afraid. June 16 is Bloomsday and Ive always wanted to be in Dublin on that day. Ulysses is a wonderful read but a hard one. It talks about many places in Dublin, so for me seeing Davy Byrnes just off Grafton St was a blast.
The martello tower is there to see and there are so many references to literarture in Ireland, its just wonderful. Yeats was from Sligo and apparently theres things to see there.
Dublin has a literary pub crawl you can do.
Id read The Dubliners definitely but the real one for landmarks is Ulysses.

Some lighter reading are funny books like the Finbar's Hotel series. I love Joseph O'Connors books too but they talk more about Irishmen out of Ireland."The Irish male at Home and Abroad"
They are wonderfully funny though.

Have fun!
Finding the literary landmarks in foreign countries is a wonderful experience.
Dont forget to find Yeats' and Wilde's homes in Dublin.
There is also the Poet's section in the burial grounds of Westminster Abby. Lots of wonderful old dead writer guys.

[This message has been edited by zooropamanda (edited 05-15-2002).]

 

[Mrs.Clayton]

Hey thanks everybody! I have quite the list now for the library!
Thanks again....