| DOUGLAS MADDON New Author from Northern Ireland The Irish literary tradition is a long and glorious one, with the ancient Celtic bards banging on about flaxen-haired damsels and blokes who could turn themselves into fish or something, followed by the beauties of the mediaeval monastic writings, now an object of fascination for people who find modern Christianity a bit dull but don't want to get into anything too weird. Things really took off with the eighteenth-century writers, who, whether Anglo-Irish genii like Jonathan Swift or Scots-Irish hallions like the weaver poets, managed to do such inventive stuff with the English language that if they were a sex show, they'd be banned. The Victorian era and early twentieth century saw intellectual juggernauts like Shaw, Joyce and O'Casey bestriding the earth like a load of great big primeval mastodons with a penchant for taking the Mickey. Finally, modern times have given us a local school of Northern Irish lad lit, acerbic Ulster black humour that makes Nick Hornby and the English pioneers of the tradition look like George Eliot; Colin Bateman, Glenn Patterson and other thrusting young bucks are the head boys of the school, and now Douglas Maddon has popped in via the back door, and is hoping the big lads won't take his dinner money. |
| The Books The English Department's Whores A novel about education Arson About An Ulster Protestant road novel |
 |
 |
 |
| BUYING OFF AMAZON? Readers tell me Amazon say they take 4-6 weeks to deliver, but in practice it's a lot less- about 6 days. Alternatively, you can order them from a bookshop, which is quicker. If you have any problems, please let me know: dmaddon@hotmail.com |
| Mr Douglas Maddon, author and short arse |