A portrait of Irish author J. M. Synge covers his youth under the influences of evangelical Protestantism, interest in the occult, musical inclinations, and literary achievements, including such plays as Riders to the Sea and The Playboy of the Western World.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Synge (1871-1909) was born into a family of landed Protestant gentry and grew up sickly. Although his brothers were successful (one was a physician/missionary, the other a landlord to tenant farmers), Synge was aimless, and only after meeting W.B. Yeats in Paris in 1896 did his life take on direction, as Yeats spurred his interest in Irish nationalism and the supernatural. Kiely draws an almost lyrical picture of Synge: introverted, complex and frequently ill with swollen neck glands. He describes the playwright's sojourns in the Aran Islands; shows how Lady Gregory's and Yeats's rejections, with constructive criticism, of his first play propelled him to eventual success; chronicles his unrequited love for artist Cherrie Matheson and his liaison with actress Molly Allgood; traces the scandals caused by In the Shadow of the Glen, Riders to the Sea and Playboy of the Western World because of their scathing look at Irish morality; and relates his death in Dublin at 37 from Hodgkin's disease. Peopling it with characters such as Oliver St. John Gogarty (the physician who diagnosed his cancer), Abbey and Hollywood actress Sara Allgood (Molly's sister), Arthur Griffith and Jack Yeats, Kiely, a Dublin-based freelancer, has written an illuminating biography of one of Ireland's most famous unknown writers. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Kiely, a freelance writer based outside Dublin, has written an entertaining and appealing biography of Synge (1871-1909), the famous Irish playwright, covering the years from approximately 1890 to his death in 1909. He gives the reader an intriguing portrait of Synge as a young man living at home with his mother, later living among the Irish on Aran Island, and writing plays (Riders to the Sea, 1903; Playboy of the Western World, 1907) based on his experiences with people from many areas of Ireland. Synge was a friend and partner to Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats; their plays formed the canon of the Irish Literary Theater in the early 1900s. Since there is relatively little on Synge, this work is recommended for academic libraries.?Cheryl L. Conway, Univ. of Arkansas Lib., Fayetteville
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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