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The complete experiences of an Irish R.M.,
A collection of short stories about life in the West of Ireland some 100 or so years ago and most centered on horses and hunting.
591 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1970
3 people want to read
About the author
Violet Florence Martin
22 books3 followersViolet Florence Martin (11 June 1862 – 21 December 1915) was an Irish author who co-wrote a series of novels with cousin Edith Somerville under the pen name of Martín Ross in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Violet Martin and Edith Somerville were second cousins, and originally met on January 17, 1886 at Castletownshend, after which they became lifelong companions and literary partners. They came to share a home in Drishane, County Cork. In 1889, Violet adopted the pseudonym Martin Ross, which comprised her surname and the name of her ancestral home; thus the authors were called Somerville and Ross. Their works include The Real Charlotte (1889), Some Reminiscences of an Irish R.M. and In The Vine Country.
Martin was a convinced Irish Unionist, in opposition to Somerville's open nationalism. Both she and her brother Robert were well-regarded members of the literary circle in Irish unionism. However, unlike her brother, Martin was a convinced suffragette, becoming vice-president of the Munster Women's Franchise League. While on friendly terms with the leading members of the Irish literary revival such as W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, she objected to their romantic version of Irish peasantry. She was on good terms with Edward Martyn, partner of Gregory and Yeats - and her kinsman - and shared his love of the Irish language and culture.
Violet was seriously injured in a riding accident in November 1898, from which she never fully recovered. This was a contributing factor to her death in Drishane, County Cork, in 1915. Edith Somerville continued to write under their joint literary names, claiming that they were still in contact. The two women left thousands of letters and 116 volumes of diaries, detailing their lives, much of them yet unpublished.
She was awarded a posthumous DLitt. by Trinity College Dublin.
(from Wikipedia)
Violet Martin and Edith Somerville were second cousins, and originally met on January 17, 1886 at Castletownshend, after which they became lifelong companions and literary partners. They came to share a home in Drishane, County Cork. In 1889, Violet adopted the pseudonym Martin Ross, which comprised her surname and the name of her ancestral home; thus the authors were called Somerville and Ross. Their works include The Real Charlotte (1889), Some Reminiscences of an Irish R.M. and In The Vine Country.
Martin was a convinced Irish Unionist, in opposition to Somerville's open nationalism. Both she and her brother Robert were well-regarded members of the literary circle in Irish unionism. However, unlike her brother, Martin was a convinced suffragette, becoming vice-president of the Munster Women's Franchise League. While on friendly terms with the leading members of the Irish literary revival such as W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory, she objected to their romantic version of Irish peasantry. She was on good terms with Edward Martyn, partner of Gregory and Yeats - and her kinsman - and shared his love of the Irish language and culture.
Violet was seriously injured in a riding accident in November 1898, from which she never fully recovered. This was a contributing factor to her death in Drishane, County Cork, in 1915. Edith Somerville continued to write under their joint literary names, claiming that they were still in contact. The two women left thousands of letters and 116 volumes of diaries, detailing their lives, much of them yet unpublished.
She was awarded a posthumous DLitt. by Trinity College Dublin.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 24, 2011
I bought this as a used book two or three decades ago, lugging it as part of my personal library completely oblivious until now to the hours of enjoyment it contained. A collection of sequential stories, the cast of local characters continued to grow with each one, the reader meeting them in one story and getting to know them better in subsequent ones.
These fictional accounts are written from the perspective of English Major Sinclair Yeates, who has been assigned to western Ireland to serve as Resident Magistrate. He thus represents locally the imposition of British law on the local Irish population, and though not of the aristocracy himself, he is continually caught up in the cultural tension between the competing cultures of a rural, agrarian people and their overlords.
Fox hunting is the major theme throughout these stories. While ostensibly protecting the farmers' livestock from the foxes, the sport of the hunt and the opportunity to show off horse and hounds are the obvious motivations for the hunting elite. The separation between those in the chase and those assisting with the hunt serves to remind all of class distinctions, but often with humorous results. Major Yeates narrates his experiences with an aloof detachment, but authors Somerville and Martin provide wonderfully effective details in describing the setting and personal details - so effective, in fact, that there were points in this book where I was surprised at how a single sentence or short paragraph had produced in me a vivid image, causing me to reread that part to see how it had been accomplished. There are some wonderfully entertaining turns of phrase, and some very creative word usage - though with both I am unsure whether to attribute my appreciation to the English of that time and locale, or to the literary skills of the authors.
My enjoyment with this book was greatly enhanced by having the online Oxford English Dictionary at my ready. I found that looking up the words with which I was unfamiliar - predominantly Irish slang or fox hunting and equine terms - increased my appreciation of both writing and action, as well as providing some interesting etymological discoveries.
These fictional accounts are written from the perspective of English Major Sinclair Yeates, who has been assigned to western Ireland to serve as Resident Magistrate. He thus represents locally the imposition of British law on the local Irish population, and though not of the aristocracy himself, he is continually caught up in the cultural tension between the competing cultures of a rural, agrarian people and their overlords.
Fox hunting is the major theme throughout these stories. While ostensibly protecting the farmers' livestock from the foxes, the sport of the hunt and the opportunity to show off horse and hounds are the obvious motivations for the hunting elite. The separation between those in the chase and those assisting with the hunt serves to remind all of class distinctions, but often with humorous results. Major Yeates narrates his experiences with an aloof detachment, but authors Somerville and Martin provide wonderfully effective details in describing the setting and personal details - so effective, in fact, that there were points in this book where I was surprised at how a single sentence or short paragraph had produced in me a vivid image, causing me to reread that part to see how it had been accomplished. There are some wonderfully entertaining turns of phrase, and some very creative word usage - though with both I am unsure whether to attribute my appreciation to the English of that time and locale, or to the literary skills of the authors.
My enjoyment with this book was greatly enhanced by having the online Oxford English Dictionary at my ready. I found that looking up the words with which I was unfamiliar - predominantly Irish slang or fox hunting and equine terms - increased my appreciation of both writing and action, as well as providing some interesting etymological discoveries.
March 6, 2014
rowlocks to this!
The Experiences of an Irish RM: Classic Serial 05-10-2008 12-10-2008
Christopher Fitz-Simon's two-part adaptation of the comic novels of Somerville and Ross, set in late-19th century Ireland.
[i]From The Telegraph
I love the works of Somerville and Ross, the Anglo-Irish female cousins (and possibly lovers) who wrote about what they knew - Anglo-Irish life in late-19th-century Ireland. Yet I know lots of people who hate them, and I can understand why. This is the Ireland of rogues and good hearts, of hunting and social hierarchies, they say, all too diddly-de-dee for its own good. They will then chide me for sentimentality plus a peasant tendency to grovel whenever there's a proper gentleman about.
We will, therefore, divide sharply over the new Sunday Classic Serial on Radio 4, wrongly entitled The Experiences of an Irish RM, wrongly because the real title is Some Experiences of an Irish RM, and the sequel is Further Experiences of…, but that's not good enough for the prigs of Radio 4, who can't believe anyone actually still reads such books. They did the same for The 39 Steps, inserting female characters to bring John Buchan a bit more up to date with his gender balances.
It won't do. Classics, however little they fit new sensibilities, deserve proper representation. Major Yeates, Mrs Cadogan and Flurry Knox are robust comic characters and Christopher Fitz-Simon's adaptation does them proud, as does Eoin O'Callaghan's production for the most part (for the lesser part, he has a terrible tendency to put music, and very diddle-de-dee music it is here, under dialogue: a distraction and a waste of good actors).
If you do not care for the works of Somerville and Ross, nothing I say will convert you. If you do, you'll love Alex Jennings as the Major and Marion O'Dwyer as his housekeeper, the peerless Mrs Cadogan. Let October winds rattle the windows: we are safe in West Cork in such company.
By Gillian Reynolds[/i]
1/2. When the affable, if somewhat dim, Major Sinclair Yeates is appointed Resident Magistrate, he finds himself among a people whose every moment seems dedicated to thwarting him.
Major Yeates ................................. Alex Jennings
Philippa Yeates .............................. Rebecca Saire
Flurry Knox ................................... Mark Lambert
Uncle Jocelyn ............................... Richard Howard
Mrs Raverty ................................... Cathy Belton
Peter ........................................ Miche Doherty
Mrs Cadogan ................................. Marion O'Dwyer
Mrs Knox .................................... Ingrid Craigie
McCarthy-Gannon ................................ John Hewitt
Mr Cantillon ................................... Kevin Flood
Train Guard ................................... Niall Cusack
Sister Emanuel ................................... Ali White
Lady Hervey ................................... Anne Makower
Reels ............................... Christopher Fitz-Simon
Director Eoin O'Callaghan.
2/2. Now a Resident Magistrate for 10 years in west Cork, Major Sinclair Yeates has grown accustomed to the eccentricity of his position and of those around him, except of course for his nemesis, Mr Flurry Knox.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews