Deirdre

by James Stephens

Deirdre is the story of a young girl raised in isolation to become the Ulster King's wife. She instead falls in love with a young man and they elope to Scotland. Lured back to Ireland many years later, she is faced with treachery and eternal sorrow.

Stephens's two novellas, Deirdre (1923) and In the Land of Youth (1924), are drawn from the Ulster cycle of Irish mythology. They were intended to be part of a five-volume work, an Irish Epic, but Stephens abandoned the idea, discouraged by critical reaction.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Ireland, Novels

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1923

About the author

James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet. James' mother worked in the home of the Collins family of Dublin and was adopted by them. He attended school with his adopted brothers Thomas and Richard (Tom and Dick) before graduating as a solicitor's clerk. They competed and won several athletic competitions despite James' slight stature (he stood 4'10" in his socks). He was known affectionately as 'Tiny Tim'. He was much enthralled by tales of military valour of his adoptive family and would have been a soldier except for his height. By the early 1900s James was increasingly inclined to socialism and the Irish language (he could speak and write Irish) and by 1912 was a dedicated Irish Republican. He was a close friend of the 1916 leader Thomas MacDonagh, who was then editor of "The Irish Review", manager of the Irish Theatre and deputy headmaster in St Enda's, the radical bilingual Montessori school run by PH Pearse, and spent most with MacDonagh in 1911. His growing nationalism brought a schism with his adopted family.
James Stephens produced many retellings of Irish myths and fairy tales. His retellings are marked by a rare combination of humour and lyricism (Deirdre, and Irish Fairy Tales are often especially praised). He also wrote several original novels (Crock of Gold, Etched in Moonlight, Demi-Gods) based loosely on Irish fairy tales. "Crock of Gold," in particular, achieved enduring popularity and was reprinted frequently throughout the author's lifetime.
Stephens began his career as a poet with the tutelage of "Æ" (George William Russell). His first book of poems, "Insurrections," was published in 1909. His last book, "Kings and the Moon" (1938), was also a volume of verse.
During the 1930s, Stephens had some acquaintance with James Joyce, who mistakenly believed that they shared a birthday. Joyce, who was concerned with his ability to finish what later became Finnegans Wake, proposed that Stephens assist him, with the authorship credited to JJ & S (James Joyce & Stephens, also a pun for the popular Irish whiskey made by John Jameson & Sons). The plan, however, was never implemented, as Joyce was able to complete the work on his own.
During the last decade of his life, Stephens found a new audience through a series of broadcasts on the BBC.

Reviews

[Max Nemtsov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прекрасная ревизионистская сказка - только очень грустная, потому что история из эпоса пересказывается весьма трагическая. Стивенз опять смешивает жанры - традиционный сюжет излагается в духе бытового натуралистического романа. И люди у него мыслят "по-современному" (для начала ХХ века) - но без знания некоторых особенностей бытования древних ирландцев будет не очень понятно, что там к чему, так что полезно сначала ознакомиться с некоторыми уложениями их жизни, как это было полезно мне.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le meilleur livre au monde.

[Kate Zimmerbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 1923 novelization of the traditional Irish story of Deirdre of the Sorrows. Stephens' interpretation was most interesting to me in the context of comparing it to other modern retellings.