Midwife to the Fairies: New and Selected Stories

by Éilís Ní Dhuibhne, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne

Eilis Ni Dhuibhne is generally considered to be one of Ireland's finest practitioners of the short story. This book brings together nine of her best stories from her first two collections, "Blood and Water" and "Eating Women is Not Recommended," as well as three brand-new stories. Ranging from the ultra realistic "Some Hours in the Life of a Witch," to the surreal fantasy world of "Fulfillment" and "The Wife of Bath," the stories describe ordinary and not so ordinary life, and the lives of women in particular, in the feminist and post-feminist eras in Ireland.

Genres: Short Stories, Ireland, Irish Literature, Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2003

About the author

Éilís Ní Dhuibhne is a writer and critic. She was born in Dublin in 1954. She attended University College Dublin, where she studied Pure English, then Folklore. She was awarded the UCD Entrance scholarship for English, and two post graduate scholarships in Folklore. In 1978-9 she studied at the University of Copenhagen, and in 1982 was awarded a PhD from the National University of Ireland. She has worked in the Department of Irish Folklore in UCD, and for many years as a curator in the National Library of Ireland. Also a teacher of Creative Writing, she has been Writer Fellow at Trinity College and is currently Writer Fellow at UCD. She is a member of Aosdána.

Eilis Ni Dhuibhne is also known as Eilis Almquist and Elizabeth O'Hara.

Reviews

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lovely short story collection with an incredibly wide range of characters and worlds. i didn't enjoy every story to the same degree, but every single one drew me in and fascinated me. i'll definitely read more of Ní Dhuibhne's work!

[Molly Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't stop thinking about the first story in this collection, "Wuff! Wuff! Wuff! for de Valera" - it was such a subtle depiction of the costs of when women don't have reproductive choices. My other favorites were, "The Flowering" (this would go so well with Woolf's A Room of One's Own),
"Midwife to the Fairies," "Holiday in the Land of Murdered Dreams," and "Peacocks". A few fell flat, like "The Wife of Bath," "A Visit to Newgrange," and "Garden of Eden". "Fulfilment" is a strange little story about a woman who turns into a dog-killer. Ni Dhuibhne often reminds me of her older contemporary, Edna O'Brien. This is definitely a collection worth picking up.

[Justine Fitzgerald]

Amazing

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strong voice, language and great insight into human nature. Very interesting to read along Mary Costello and Danielle McLaughlin.