Faded lives and the quiet decline of the big house

Shadowstory by Jennifer Johnston. Headline Review, €18.90.

Jennifer Johnston: writes about the conflicts and bonds between two different traditions. Photo: Collins
Jennifer Johnston: writes about the conflicts and bonds between two different traditions. Photo: Collins

Shadowstory

By Jennifer Johnston

Headline Review, €18.90

Though Jennifer Johnston has written about contemporary Ireland, the fading of the big house continues to define her work. Set against the backdrop of a Co Clare estate - home to a once large, once prosperous Protestant family - Shadowstory revisits her favourite fictional theme and, like her early and best-known novels, How Many ...