O'Donnel: A National Tale

by Sydney Owenson Morgan

Lady Morgan (Sydney Owenson) (1776-1859) was an Irish novelist. She was one of the most vivid and hotly discussed literary figures of her generation. She began her career with a precocious volume of poems. The Novice of St. Dominick (1806) was praised for its qualities of imagination and description, but the book which made her reputation and brought her name into warm controversy was The Wild Irish A National Tale (1806). In 1814 she produced her best novel, O’ A National Tale. Amongst her other works are Woman; or, Ida of Athens (1809), France (1817), Italy (1821) and The O’Briens and the O’Flahertys (1827).

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1814

About the author

Sydney, Lady Morgan, née Owenson, was an Irish novelist.

She was one of the most vivid and hotly discussed literary figures of her generation. She began her career with a precocious volume of poems. She collected Irish tunes, for which she composed the words, thus setting a fashion adopted with signal success by Thomas Moore. Her St. Clair (1804), a novel of ill-judged marriage, ill-starred love, and impassioned nature-worship, in which the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Jean-Jacques Rousseau was apparent, at once attracted attention.

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. O’Donnel was a wonderful tragic hero, and his beau, the Duchess of Belmont, was a fascinating heroine. She’s presented so much through O’Donnel’s shifting perceptions of her that the reader never has a good grasp on her actual character, especially as she herself deliberately alters it to fit into a variety of different ‘societies.’ The only clear threads throughout are her intelligence, humanity, and perception—and perhaps these are the only real traits needed to learn how to value someone.

The contrast between O’Donnel’s personal and national tragedy, and the self-inflated, shallow English societies was also masterfully done. At times it was very funny, but always with an undercurrent of sadness and more than a bit of despair. I strongly recommend this novel to anyone interested in Irish politics, history, and/or nationalism, or to anyone wishing to read a particularly beautiful and compelling romance. You can find a full read through, with volume by volume summary & thoughts here: https://theliveliesteffusions.wordpre...

[Mir]

Owenson caricatures contemporary tourists:
"We happen to have no taste for coal-mines:-- besides I don’t give any credit to your knowing how to work coal-mines in Ireland. You had better stick to your bogs… But have you nothing about Fingal here? No place that Ossian mentions? We are told that this is the spot for that sort of thing."