The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (Unknown Binding)

by Brian Moore (Author) "THE first thing Miss Judith Hearne unpacked in her new lodgings was the silver-framed photograph of her aunt..." (more)
Key Phrases: horrid sister, aunt dear, red raincoat, Miss Hearne, Father Quigley, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Novel by Brian Moore, published in 1955 as Judith Hearne, about an aging Irish spinster's disillusionment and her subsequent descent into alcoholism. The U.S. version was published in 1956 as The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. Set in Belfast in the early 1950s, the novel is the study of a Roman Catholic woman who tries to gain the affection of James Madden, an unscrupulous retired man she meets at a local pub. Madden sees her as a potential investor in a business scheme, but she mistakenly infers a romantic interest. She begins to drink heavily, and she finds no comfort in her confession to an indifferent priest. Her disintegration is rapid, and she eventually becomes a resident at a nursing home. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
“A powerful haunting story by a young Irish-Canadian who knows the meaning not only of loneliness, but that of compassion as well.”
–New York Times


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• ASIN: B00005WAAK
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,682,826 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #85 in

  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( M ) > Moore, Brian

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A woman imprisoned by the passage of time., February 27, 2002

By	Cipriano "www.bookpuddle.blogspot.com" (Planet Claire) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (Paladin Books) (Paperback)

After cranking out a string of pot-boiler thrillers, Judith Hearne was Moore's debut venture into the world of the serious novel. Here he sought to depict the epic, cosmic conflicts that are under the surface of the most seemingly ordinary of lives. He set it squarely in 1950's Belfast, where he was raised as one of the Catholic minority. He hated Belfast, calling it a "claustrophobic, provincial backwater... trapped in the nightmare of history" and plagued equally with Protestant self-righteousness and Catholic repressiveness. All of these sentiments find their way into this, his first literary novel.
Judith, convent-raised, unmarried, and forty-something moves into Mrs. Rice's boarding house on Camden Street. It is her sixth relocation in the last few years. We find out WHY later. She teaches piano and embroidery to an ever diminishing handful of students, has very few possessions, and fewer social attachments. In fact, her only social involvement is tea with the O'Neill family on Sunday afternoons. Only later do we find how one-sided even this relationship is. The O'Neills secretly dread her visits.
We are soon to sense the brooding cloud of narrowness, plainness, loneliness, and ignorance that hovers over this poor soul. Moore captures it. Even her physical frame, he says, is "plain as a cheap clothes rack."
To sustain herself she lives in a world of religious faith and imagination... or illusion. She daydreams, and surrounds herself with iconic totems from her uneventful past. And she has a secret vice that isn't revealed until almost midway in the novel. She's a(n) _____! (I won't say).
The novel revolves around Judith's interactions with the many other residents of Mrs. Rice's home. Because of Judith's long repressed desires and vivid imagination, she is quick to assume that Mr. Madden's attentions will lead to a splendid marriage. But in their mutually illusive worlds they are both nursing dissimilar motives as regards each other. And meanwhile, Judith is being horribly set up for a total spiritual/emotional breakdown by a certain nefarious Iago-like presence in the home. As a result of her mounting disappointments she questions (abandons?) her religious faith, and is led in increasing measure to wallow in her secret vice... the real "passion" of Judith Hearne. And it is indeed, partaken in abject loneliness. Even the Church, represented by the tactless Father Quigley, rejects her cry for help. He heaps penitence and guilt where forgiveness and grace are needed.

This novel is brilliant in its portrayal of a woman at the very outer limits of disillusionment. Trapped by the passage of time. In the end, she looks in the mirror and smiles a costly smile. It has cost her the illusion, the pretence, and the ill-founded faith of all her years.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful display of the disappointed...., January 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (Paperback)

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearn is probably one of the most beautiful books in contempory Irish literature. Brian Moore treats Judy Hearn with a completely unbiased nature; he is definitely in touch with the character's values, and her flaws. Moore has shaped a novel of his time and Ireland's people that will probably influence many for years to come.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern masterpiece., April 28, 2005

By	Michael Leone (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (Paperback)

It cannot be emphasized enough what a masterpiece this book is. It is packed tight like a little bomb and like a bomb it explodes in your hands. Writers especially should take note of this book: not a single word is wasted. Every sentence furthers the plot -- that of a desperate and near-hysterical drunken Irish spinster who is feebly holding onto her faith. It is also one of those rare books that manages to be both literary and plot-driven. Merciless tension is sustained throughout.

The writing will remind you of early Joyce (Dubliners) coupled with the pained humor of Chekhov. It is rich in imagery and detail and the pacing is perfect. Unforgettable characters abound, from the Yank-wannabe cripple James Madden, to the pudgy, poetaster Bernard Rice, to Judith herself, a shabby-genteel dame who only wants to be loved.

This is classic writing by a great writer who deserves a wider audience.