The Macdermots of Ballycloran is a novel by Anthony Trollope. It was Trollope's first published novel, which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845. However, it was not published until 1847. The novel was "an abysmal failure with the reading public."[1]
The narrative of The Macdermots of Ballycloran "chronicles the tragic demise of a small Catholic landowning family in the Protestant-dominated Ireland of the mid-19th century. It focuses on the struggle of Thady Macdermot to keep his sinking property afloat. Thady lives with his father Larry Macdermot in a dilapidated mansion in County Leitrim, which is mortgaged to their enemy, the vulgar builder Joe Flannelly. They cannot keep up the payments on the mortgage. Enmity between the Macdermot and Flannelly families is sharpened by Thady's having declined to marry Joe's daughter, Sally. Larry Macdermot's daughter, Feemy (christened 'Euphemia'), is seduced by Royal Irish Constabulary officer Captain Myles Ussher, who is hated by the local Catholic majority for his brutal enforcement of the excise laws against poteen distilling. One night Thady comes home to find Ussher abducting Feemy and kills him in the ensuing struggle. Despite the mitigating circumstances, the Protestant-dominated courts find Thady guilty of murder, in the context of a panic about crime, and fears of Thady's potential connection to Irish nationalist groups. Thady is hanged, his father Larry goes mad, Feemy dies bearing Ussher's bastard and the Ballycloran house is finally vacated of Macdermots."[1]
Quoteedit
Trollope, in his autobiography, said the following concerning The Macdermots of Ballycloran:
"As to the plot itself, I do not know that I ever made one so good,- or, at any rate, one so susceptible of pathos. I am aware that I broke down in the telling, not having yet studied the art. Nevertheless, The Macdermots is a good novel, and worth reading by anyone who wishes to understand what Irish life was before the potato disease, the famine, and the Encumbered Estates Bill."[3]
Referencesedit
^ abSutherland, John (1989). The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction, p. 393. Stanford University Press. ISBN0-8047-1842-3.
^"Welcome to Drumsna". GoIreland. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
^Anthony Trollope, An Autobiography, pg 71, Oxford World's Classics, 1999.
macdermots, ballycloran, novel, anthony, trollope, trollope, first, published, novel, which, began, september, 1843, completed, june, 1845, however, published, until, 1847, novel, abysmal, failure, with, reading, public, first, edition, title, pageauthoranthon. The Macdermots of Ballycloran is a novel by Anthony Trollope It was Trollope s first published novel which he began in September 1843 and completed by June 1845 However it was not published until 1847 The novel was an abysmal failure with the reading public 1 The Macdermots of BallycloranFirst edition title pageAuthorAnthony TrollopeCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishGenreNovelPublisherThomas Cautley NewbyPublication date1847Media typePrint hardback ISBN978 0 548 28018 8OCLC178460375The novel was written while Trollope was staying in the village of Drumsna County Leitrim Ireland 2 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Quote 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editThe narrative of The Macdermots of Ballycloran chronicles the tragic demise of a small Catholic landowning family in the Protestant dominated Ireland of the mid 19th century It focuses on the struggle of Thady Macdermot to keep his sinking property afloat Thady lives with his father Larry Macdermot in a dilapidated mansion in County Leitrim which is mortgaged to their enemy the vulgar builder Joe Flannelly They cannot keep up the payments on the mortgage Enmity between the Macdermot and Flannelly families is sharpened by Thady s having declined to marry Joe s daughter Sally Larry Macdermot s daughter Feemy christened Euphemia is seduced by Royal Irish Constabulary officer Captain Myles Ussher who is hated by the local Catholic majority for his brutal enforcement of the excise laws against poteen distilling One night Thady comes home to find Ussher abducting Feemy and kills him in the ensuing struggle Despite the mitigating circumstances the Protestant dominated courts find Thady guilty of murder in the context of a panic about crime and fears of Thady s potential connection to Irish nationalist groups Thady is hanged his father Larry goes mad Feemy dies bearing Ussher s bastard and the Ballycloran house is finally vacated of Macdermots 1 Quote editTrollope in his autobiography said the following concerning The Macdermots of Ballycloran As to the plot itself I do not know that I ever made one so good or at any rate one so susceptible of pathos I am aware that I broke down in the telling not having yet studied the art Nevertheless The Macdermots is a good novel and worth reading by anyone who wishes to understand what Irish life was before the potato disease the famine and the Encumbered Estates Bill 3 References edit a b Sutherland John 1989 The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction p 393 Stanford University Press ISBN 0 8047 1842 3 Welcome to Drumsna GoIreland Retrieved 25 June 2008 Anthony Trollope An Autobiography pg 71 Oxford World s Classics 1999 External links editPlot summary and notes The Macdermots of Ballycloran at Project Gutenberg nbsp The Macdermots of Ballycloran public domain audiobook at LibriVox nbsp This article about an 1840s novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Macdermots of Ballycloran amp oldid 1180285057, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
