Ghost Light - Couverture rigide

O'Connor, Joseph

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0374161879 ISBN 13 : 9780374161873

Editeur : Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2011

Synopsis

O'Connor, Joseph. Ghost Light. New York, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2011. 14.5cm x 21.5cm. 246 pages. Original Hardcover with dustjacket. Excellent condition. This novel reimagines the story of the love affair between the playwright J.M. Synge and the actress Molly Allgood, to whom he was engaged at the time of his death. Synge's family, friends and colleagues disapproved of the liaison. The novel evokes the rich social and cultural life centred around the Abbey Theatre in early twentieth century Dublin.

A propos du livre

Quatrième de couverture

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'A superbly written, magically evocative novel' Scotsman

'Masterful in its management of re-imagined lives and the time they inhabit' Financial Times

'A virtuoso display of literary talent...brimming with sympathy and skill' Irish Times

'Ghost Light displays an astonishing command of voice, using tones that are both tender and powerfully emotional, with brilliant command of the period'

Colm Tóibín, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year

'Beautifully written and charming' Independent on Sunday

'Remarkable...[Molly is] a character as feisty, earthy and sexually magnetic as her namesake Molly Bloom' Metro

Dublin, 1907. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Outspoken and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a Catholic girl from the slums of Dublin, dreaming of stardom in America. Her lover, John Synge, is a troubled genius, whose life is hampered by convention and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Their affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is quarrelsome, affectionate and tender.

Many years later, Molly, now a poverty-stricken old woman, makes her way through London's bomb-scarred city streets, alone but for a snowdrift of memories. Her once dazzling career has faded but her unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Dublin 1907, a city of whispered rumours. A young actress begins an affair with a damaged older man, the leading playwright at the theatre where she works. Rebellious and flirtatious, Molly Allgood is a girl of the inner city tenements, dreaming of stardom in America. She has dozens of admirers but in the backstage of her life there is a secret.

Her lover, John Synge, is a troubled genius, the son of a once prosperous landowning family, a poet of fiery language and tempestuous passions. Yet his life is hampered by convention and by the austere and God-fearing mother with whom he lives. Scarred by a childhood of loneliness and severity he has long been ill, but he loves to walk the wild places of Ireland. The affair, sternly opposed by friends and family, is turbulent, sometimes cruel, often tender.

Many years later, an old woman makes her way across London on the morning after a hurricane. Christmas is coming. As she wanders past bombsites and through the city's forlorn beauty, a snowdrift of memories and lost desires seems to swirl. She has twice been married: once widowed, once divorced, but an unquenchable passion for life has kept her afloat as her dazzling career has faded.

A story of love's commitment, of partings and reconciliations, of the courage involved in living on nobody else's terms, Ghost Light is a profoundly moving and ultimately uplifting novel.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Farrar Straus & Giroux
• Date d'édition: 2011
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0374161879
• ISBN 13: 9780374161873
• Reliure: Relié
• Numéro d'édition: 1
• Nombre de pages: 246
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible