Items related to Mangan Inheritance
Not so long ago James Mangan was a brilliant young poet. These days, however, he toils as a journalist
and shivers in the shadow of his glamorous movie-star wife. And now she has left him for her lover. Adrift and depressed, Jamie takes refuge with his father, in whose house he turns up a 19th-century daguerreotype bearing the initials “J.M.” and depicting a man who, as it happens, is Jamie’s spitting image. Could this be the only existing photograph of his purported ancestor, the legendarily dissolute Irish poet James Clarence Mangan? Obsessed by this strange resemblance—and aided by an unexpected financial windfall—Jamie heads to Ireland thinking at last to discover that elusive entity: himself. Instead, in the dreary coastal village of Drishane, he meets the Mangans: derelict Eileen, sullen Dinny, drunken (and shrunken) Conor, and the sexy and very available Kathleen. They know something, for sure—something to do with Jamie, and something they don’t want him to find out.
The Mangan Inheritance is melodrama at its most inventive and suggestive, an inquiry into the problem of identity and the nature of ancestry that beguiles the reader with dark deeds, wild humor, and weird goings-on, on its way towards a shocking and terrifying—and utterly satisfying—conclusion.
and shivers in the shadow of his glamorous movie-star wife. And now she has left him for her lover. Adrift and depressed, Jamie takes refuge with his father, in whose house he turns up a 19th-century daguerreotype bearing the initials “J.M.” and depicting a man who, as it happens, is Jamie’s spitting image. Could this be the only existing photograph of his purported ancestor, the legendarily dissolute Irish poet James Clarence Mangan? Obsessed by this strange resemblance—and aided by an unexpected financial windfall—Jamie heads to Ireland thinking at last to discover that elusive entity: himself. Instead, in the dreary coastal village of Drishane, he meets the Mangans: derelict Eileen, sullen Dinny, drunken (and shrunken) Conor, and the sexy and very available Kathleen. They know something, for sure—something to do with Jamie, and something they don’t want him to find out.
The Mangan Inheritance is melodrama at its most inventive and suggestive, an inquiry into the problem of identity and the nature of ancestry that beguiles the reader with dark deeds, wild humor, and weird goings-on, on its way towards a shocking and terrifying—and utterly satisfying—conclusion.
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From the Publisher:
'The Mangan Inheritance is a marvellous book. The storytelling is faultless and I have read no book recently that had in greater measure that quality for which no superior word need be sought but "unputdownability"... a superb product of the imagination.' - Paul Ableman, Spectator
About the Author:
'A passionately detailed and evocative work ... what's exceptionally good is the way it sustains the powerful, simple idea of the quest inside the worrying, edgy details of a modern life.' - Hermione Lee, Observer
'Brian Moore is a highly intelligent writer who has the enviable ability to make you want to go on turning the pages.' - A. N. Wilson, Evening Standard
'Moore is one of the boldest and most inventive contemporary novelists.' - Literary Review
Brian Moore was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1921. He served with the Ministry of War in North Africa, Italy, and France during the Second World War. He emigrated to Canada in 1948 and worked as a newspaper reporter for the Montreal Gazette from 1948 until 1952.
While living in Canada, Moore wrote his first three novels, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, The Feast of Lupercal, and The Luck of Ginger Coffey, the first two set in Belfast, the third in Montreal. In 1959 he moved to the United States, but Canada continued to play a role in his later novels, including I Am Mary Dunne, The Great Victorian Collection, and Black Robe. His many honours included two Governor General’s Awards for Fiction.
Brian Moore died in Malibu, California, in 1999.
While living in Canada, Moore wrote his first three novels, The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, The Feast of Lupercal, and The Luck of Ginger Coffey, the first two set in Belfast, the third in Montreal. In 1959 he moved to the United States, but Canada continued to play a role in his later novels, including I Am Mary Dunne, The Great Victorian Collection, and Black Robe. His many honours included two Governor General’s Awards for Fiction.
Brian Moore died in Malibu, California, in 1999.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherNew Canadian Library
- Publication date1987
- ISBN 10 0771093721
- ISBN 13 9780771093722
- BindingMass Market Paperback
- Rating
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