February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
CLEAR THE CONFEDERATE WAY!
THE IRISH IN THE ARMY
OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA
Kelly J. O’Grady
The story of the Irish in the blue uniforms of the north during the American Civil War is a familiar one. Less so is that of the Irishmen in Confederate gray. This book was prompted by the relative lack of documented research and published material on the Irish in the armies of the South. The sleeve notes state that O’Grady’s work "shatters several long-held myths" and is one of the most important Civil War books of the year. Savas Publishing Company, 202 First St. S.E., Suite 103A, Mason City, IA 50401. 360 pp. $26.95.
THE ROSE GARDEN
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M’ve Brennan
This book is a collection of 20 stories, six of them never before collected in book form, and almost all of them first published in The New Yorker in the 1950s and ’60s. Five of the stories are set in Dublin. The others are set in Brennan’s adopted America, mostly in New York and the Hudson River Valley. Brennan was born in Dublin in 1916 and moved to the in 1934. She was a copy writer at Harper’s Bazaar when, in 1948, William Shawn invited her to join the staff of The New Yorker. She died in New York in 1993 at age 76. From Counterpoint, 717 D St. NW, Suite 203, Washington, D.C. 20004. 320 pp. $23.
THE MARRIAGE AT ANTIBES
Carol Azadeh
This is a collection of stories, a first book, by Carol Azadeh, who was born in Belfast, educated in Oxford and Paris and now lives in the south of France. Exploring a range of experience from childhood to marriage, this collection opens with "The Country Road" in which an 8-year old, Cathy, moves through lonely days in a Northern Ireland populated by elderly neighbors and menaced by security forces. It continues with stories of rootless young women adrift in foreign lands. At the heart of this volume is the pull and power of human relationships. From Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 19 West 21st St., New York, NY 10010. 220 pp, $22.95.
GRAVE UNDERTAKINGS,
A FATHER DOWLING MYSTERY
Ralph McInerny
Ralph McInerny, who lives in Indiana, is the author of 18 Father Dowling mysteries. In this, his latest instalment in the series, Fr. Dowling’s investigations lead him to the small town of Fox River, Ill. Gangster Vincent O’Toole mysteriously dies, causing people in the town to question the circumstances of his death. When the Fox River Police Department finally exhume the body, the find the coffin empty. From St. Martin’s Minotaur, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. 374 pp. $34.95.