HIMSELF AND I

by Elaine O'Beirne-Ranelagh ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1957

Himself"" is an Irish -born father possessed with his heritage to the point of self-immolation; ""I"", an American young mother of three- the relentlessly humorous narrator, whose girlhood was spent in an abandoned passion for all the legends and history of Ireland. Despising the bourgeois comforts of their life in New York, they bought up an immense, ancient house, containing 15 fireplaces each with a nest of jackdaws- but no electricity. And in a blizzard of falling plaster, they settled down to what they supposed was the leisurely custom of the landed gentry. In Jim's case, the tradition that as the O'Beirne or head of the clan he was forbidden to work, coincided perfectly with his own natural inclinations. He gossiped, and helped oversee the servants' beer supply and the procurement of a steady maid. The domestic problem became, in fact, an absorbing tank- involving the family in the romance of their hired hand and in a gaily irreverent pose as ardent churchgoers when they sought a girl from a local convent..... It's all good fun, but not especially funny, and of likeliest appeal to Irish readers.

Pub Date: April 1, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Citadel Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1957

Categories: NONFICTION