This novel, according to Somerville, "concerns the history of one of those minor dynasties that, in Ireland, have risen, and rules, and rioted, and crashed in ruins." "Somerville and Ross know their world as well as Jane Austen knew hers."--John Bayley.
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This novel, according to Somerville, "concerns the history of one of those minor dynasties that, in Ireland, have risen, and rules, and rioted, and crashed in ruins." "Somerville and Ross know their world as well as Jane Austen knew hers."--John Bayley.
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Add this copy of The Big House of Inver to cart. $5.88, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by J. S. Sanders and Company.
Add this copy of The Big House of Inver to cart. $5.88, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by J. S. Sanders and Company.
Add this copy of Big House of Inver to cart. $6.50, very good condition, Sold by Moss Glen Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New Haven, CT, UNITED STATES, published 1978 by Quartet Books.
Add this copy of The Big House of Inver to cart. $9.80, good condition, Sold by Madison Booksellers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from HAGERSTOWN, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1999 by J. S. Sanders and Company.
Good story. It takes a little keeping up with at the start. Nearly three-fourths of a dynasty is followed in the first part of the book and then the latter half is the main story, covering only a couple of months. The progression of time is fairly well done. The characters really do come to life, each with a quirk or five. The interactions between them practically require diagrams. Lots of horses jumping and talk about fishing. More than anything, though, it is the syntax and style that really captures the uniquely Irish mood and impishness. Many of the descriptions force me to suppress laughter, but I read on anxiously, enjoying the momentum of the ride. I recently read that to mimic dialect, one should focus on the sentence structure and not purposefully misspelling words. These authors are great at this. The Irish R.M. uses this to great effect. However, this novel was written after Martin's death. Those little misspelled words creep in a way that didn't happen in the R.M. While I do not doubt their partnership endured despite being in separate worlds, there is certainly a difference in the writing, albeit slight. The relationship between those in the house and those in the tower is interesting, as well. Overall, a very good story. I intend on continuing to read more of their work.
