A20–891
“Himself a peasant, William Carleton writes of the Irish people, the Irish scene and the Irish life out of the book of his own experience. He was the youngest of the fourteen children of a small farmer in Tyrone, and was brought up in a household that knew the ancient Irish tongue as well as the English language. His real literary career began in 1828, when, at the age of thirtyfour, he settled permanently in Dublin and became a contributor to the Christian Examiner. For this paper, Carleton during the following six years wrote his ‘Traits and stories of the Irish peasantry’ upon which is based his reputation as a delineator of Irish life and character. As one of the recently issued volumes in a new Library of Irish literature, eight stories and sketches are selected to represent Carleton’s contribution, among them being: Neal Malone; Phelim O’Toole’s courtship; The party fight and funeral; The midnight mass; and Denis O’Shaughnessy going to Maynooth.”—Boston Transcript
“Carleton belongs by right to the Irish classics. His tales are vigorous and brimful of humour. His character-drawing was extremely vivid, and some of his heroes are like creations of flesh and blood. He had also a gift of impressive description.”
+ Ath p445 Je 6 ’19 60w
“His temperament and his experience combined to produce a picture of the peasantry which is unrivalled as an historical document, and fascinating as a work of art. Protestant though he became, Carleton writes always as one oppressed, of those suffering from similar oppression, and for that very reason appeals with undying power to the generous ethic of fair play which has always characterized the Anglo-Saxon elsewhere. What he wrote for his own generation has lost nothing of its force today.” R. B. J.
+ Ath p750 Ag 15 ’19 950w Booklist 16:287 My ’20
“No matter what varying amount of interest they may have found in Carleton’s tales, readers and critics have vied with each other in emphasizing their appealing and truthful Irish quality.... In many ways, however, Carleton followed stereotyped formulas both in his plots and his character portrayals.” E. F. E.
+ − Boston Transcript p6 F 11 ’20 1600w + Cath World 112:395 D ’20 160w
CARLTON, FRANK TRACY. Elementary economics. *$1.10 (2c) Macmillan 330