+ − The Times [London] Lit Sup p186 Mr 18 ’20 480w
GALWAY, CONOR. Towards the dawn. *$2.50 Stokes
“The novel is, quite simply and frankly, propaganda for the cause of Sinn Fein. Its heroine is a vigorous, eager, impulsive, large-hearted young woman whom the reader first sees as a gawky, somewhat impish slip of a girl in her first teens. She gets caught in a street fight between Orangemen and Hibernians, brought on because some drummers of the former refuse to give way to the band heading a procession of the others; she is knocked down, trampled and has a narrow escape from being killed. The first thing she says when she comes back to consciousness is to declare solemnly that she hates both factions and thereafter will be a Fenian. To this determination she holds with enthusiasm, becoming a Sinn Feiner when that organization comes into activity. At one time, moved by the desire to make a sacrifice, she enters a convent with the intention of becoming a nun, but her desire to take part in the active measures Sinn Fein is planning brings her out again and into the ranks of that organization’s most ardent protagonists.”—N Y Times
“Pleasantly written and containing some excellent character drawings, ‘Towards the dawn’ is likely to prove a distinct success.”
+ Cath World 112:264 N ’20 320w
“Would be interesting if the author’s viewpoint could be trusted to be accurate and impartial. But it is quite evident that it is never impartial and therefore only actual knowledge of conditions can say whether or not it is accurate.”
+ − N Y Times p25 S 5 ’20 350w
Reviewed by H. W. Boynton
Review 3:422 N 3 ’20 160w