Transnational Dimensions of Irish Local Colour Fiction, 1880–1920

An Open Access edition will be available on the Liverpool University Press website, thanks to funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).Regional cultures were immensely popular during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, across Europe and in North America. In Ireland, this popularity is demonstrated by the many writers who engaged with the genre of local colour fiction, including Jane Barlow, George Moore, Shan Bullock and Katharine Tynan. These authors addressed local scenery, regional communities, and Irish folklore and traditions. Moreover, in their attempts to create an authentic atmosphere, these writers often rendered local dialect.Irish local colour fiction from the Revival has hitherto received little attention, and has primarily been investigated through the lens of nation building and nationalism. This book breaks new ground by analysing the fundamental but overlooked transnational dimensions of Irish local colour fiction. These novels and stories address themes such as emigration, tourism and trade, and represent gypsies, foreign travellers and returning natives. In addition, the book explores through big data analysis the circulation of this fiction beyond Ireland, in translation or in the form of republications in English, and describes how these local colour novels and short stories were marketed to transnational audiences and received in the foreign press.