Guilt Rules All

Brian Cliff is assistant professor in the School of English at Trinity College, Dublin. He is the coeditor of several books and the author of Irish Crime Fiction.Elizabeth Mannion teaches at Baruch College, City University of New York. She is the author of several books, including The Urban Plays of the Early Abbey Theatre, and editor of The Contemporary Irish Detective Novel.

Readable, stimulating and informative, this is a book that celebrates great Irish writing, much of which has never before been the subject of such in-depth scholarly attention. Offering 17 chapters on a huge variety of topics, the collection shows definitively that crime fiction has become one of Ireland’s most vital, creative and transformative modes of contemporary writing. Guilt Rules All does an outstanding job of conveying the breadth of the genre that encompasses mystery, detective and crime fiction. An eclectic set of contributors—writers, scholars and aficionados— examine overarching themes in fresh and innovative ways. Guilt Rules All explores the robust body of crime fiction produced in the Republic and Northern Ireland across decades. It offers important new perspectives with its attention to women writers, its impressive array of authors and texts, and its sophisticated readings that enrich our understanding not only of Irish crime fiction, but also of Irish writing more generally.