Truth & Dare: Women Who Shaped Ireland

by Martina Devlin

Unknown Binding

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Martina Devlin is an Irish novelist and journalist. She lives in Dublin with her husband David and their cat Chekhov - the latter snoozes at her feet and keeps her company while she writes. It's all a far cry from her Fleet Street days, when she went to Parkhurst (a maximum security prison) to meet gangland leader Reggie Kray, was shown how to do The Twist by the maestro Chubby Checker, and kept watch while Anthony Burgess of 'A Clockwork Orange' filled his pockets with all the uneaten cakes at their interview over afternoon tea. She has had nine books published, beginning in 2000. Her work has won a number of prizes including the Royal Society of Literature's VS Pritchett Prize and a Hennessy Literary Award, and she was twice shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. A current affairs commentator for the Irish Independent, Martina has been named columnist of the year by the National Newspapers of Ireland. She is vice-chairperson of the Irish Writers Centre, and has a certificate as a chartered director from the Institute of Directors. But none of that impresses Chekhov the cat.

Reviews

[Eithne Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a rollicking good read. The only thing I disliked about it was finishing it; I was actually sad when I read the last story.
I kept trying to predict which stories I'd enjoy most but I kept getting it wrong. My favourite stories were those of Constance Markieviecz, because it was so funny, and Dorothy MacArdle, because Martina Devlin is a dab hand at the supernatural stories.

[Aileen Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read as always from Martina. I love that she has explored Irish women who have made a difference to our history and our lives. It has been educational too. To my shame I didn't know that Sommerville and Ross the authors of the Irish RM that I watched growing up starring Peter Bowles were two female writers, Edith Sommerville and Violet! I think they deliberately wanted to sound male to have a better chance with publishers and the reading public alike. Scary to think female writers would have been considered inferior and that they should have been at home minding children and husbands instead. Anna Parnell I had never heard of nor the wonderful suffragette Hanna Sheehy Skeffington who went on hunger strike to get the vote for women. Thank you Hanna. All those women who broke ranks, beat a new path, helped modernise and make Ireland a better place for women and us all.