Though small, Ireland has one of the richest literary cultures on the globe. Tourism is the most important factor in the economies of the North and the South, and the vast majority of visitors are attracted to Ireland by three things: landscapes/townscapes; culture; history. The literature of the island informs and is informed by all three and this book will fill an enormous gap in the market of travel guides; nothing like it is presently available. It will provide readers with a fabric of stories of how writers and their work are bound into the infrastructure of the island's cities, towns, architecture, countryside, and most significantly its often turbulent history and sense of itself. In the travel shelves of standard bookshops and their airport counterparts it will grab the attention of readers as an alternative to the general guides, given that an interest in Ireland incorporates a fascination with its cultural and literary heritage.
