The Best of Frank O'Connor: Introduction by Julian Barnes(Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series)

The most generous one-volume collection ever published of short stories, autobiographical writings,poetry, and essays by the writer Yeats called “Ireland’s Chekhov.”   Selected and arranged thematically by Julian Barnes, the rich mix of writings in The Best of Frank O’Connor starts off with his most famous short story, “Guests of the Nation,” set during the Irish War of Independence; chronicles his childhood with an alcoholic father and protective mother; and traces his literary influences in brilliant essays on Joyce and Yeats. O’Connor’s wonderfully polyphonic tales of family, friendship, and rivalry are set beside those that bring to life forgotten souls on the fringes of society. O’Connor’s writings about Ireland vividly evoke the land he called home, while other stories probe the hardships and rewards of Irish emigration. Finally, we see O’Connor grappling, in both fiction and memoir, with the largest questions of religion and belief.   The Best of Frank O’Connor is a literary monument to a truly great writer.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgment Introduction Select Bibliography Chronology About the Editor 1. WAR Preface Guests of the Nation Attack Jumbo’s Wife September Dawn Machine-Gun Corps in Action Laughter Soirée Chez une Belle Jeune Fille From An Only Child — The Fight for Freedom From The Big Fellow: Michael Collins and the Irish Revolution From My Father’s Son — A Case of Hypnotism 2. CHILDHOOD Preface My Oedipus Complex From An Only Child — Mother The Genius First Confession From Writing a Story — One Man’s Way The Study of History From An Only Child — A Love of Heights The Man of the World From An Only Child — The Bandsmen The Cornet Player Who Betrayed Ireland 3. WRITERS Preface Introduction to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man From James Joyce: A Post-Mortem From My Father’s Son — George Russell and W. B. Yeats From Leinster, Munster and Connaught — Yeats Centenary Address at the Graveside of W. B. Yeats From Leinster, Munster and Connaught — The Tailor and Anstey 4. LONELY VOICES Preface The Procession of Life The Majesty of the Law After Fourteen Years May Night There is a Lone House Uprooted The Bridal Night A Bachelor’s Story Lonely Rock 5. IRELAND Preface A Learned Mistress Advice to Lovers I am Stretched on Your Grave A Word of Warning A Grey Eye Weeping From My Father’s Son — Yeats as Editor Kilcash Hope From Irish Miles — Father and Son From Leinster, Munster and Connaught — —Cork and Mental Age of Cities —Cork —Sligo From The Backward Look From Holiday Magazine 6. BETTER QUARRELLING Preface From My Father’s Son — First Fiction From The Saint and Mary Kate The Luceys Peasants Fish for Friday Old-Age Pensioners A Thing of Nothing News for the Church The Mad Lomasneys In the Train 7. ABROAD Preface The Babes in the Wood The Paragon Darcy in the Land of Youth The American Wife A Story by Maupassant The Conversion The Late Henry Conran Michael’s Wife From My Father’s Son — The American Liner 8. LAST THINGS Preface From Leinster, Munster and Connaught — Monastery Song without Words ‘The Star that Bids the Shepherd Fold’ The Frying-Pan This Mortal Coil The Wreath From An Only Child — Grandmother The Long Road to Ummera From My Father’s Son — Tim Trayner The Mass Island

About the Author :
Frank O’Connor (1903–1966) was born in Cork, Ireland. The author of plays, stories, criticism, and poetry, he was also a director of the legendary Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Julian Barnes was born in England in 1946. Three of his novels have been short-listed for the Booker Prize.