The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small

(Hardback)

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A thrilling reimagining of a turning point in Irish, American and European history. Beautifully written the rhythms are the rhythms of a revolutionary era it wears the weight of its research lightly, and the headlong pace never falters. A masterwork from one of the most inventive artists of our day. 'A masterwork from one of the most inventive artists of our day' John Banville From multi-award-winning author and film director Neil Jordan comes The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small. This powerful new work of fiction brings Jordan's inimitable storytelling ability to the drama of real events and a long-forgotten chapter in Ireland's history. The tale is related by Tony Small, a runaway slave who becomes Lord Edward Fitzgerald's manservant and friend. While details of Lord Edward's life are well documented, little is known of Tony Small who rescued Fitzgerald after the Battle of Eutaw Springs during America's War of Independence and returned with him to Europe. In this gripping narrative his character considers the ironies of empire, captivity and freedom, mapping Lord Edward's journey from being a loyal subject of the British Empire to becoming a 1798 rebellion leader. The story embraces a rich cast of characters as action weaves from the Carolinas to London and Dublin, from the ferment of Paine and Robespierre's revolutionary Paris to Tournai and Hamburg, returning to Ireland for its tragic, inevitable denouement.

Reviews

An expertly spun ballad defined by themes of belonging, illusion and, fundamentally, fidelity * RT Culture *
This panoramic, painstakingly researched novel told through Small's voice is a convincing reconstruction of the way their lives interlocked despite origins in diametrically opposed worlds * Irish Independent *
Jordan is a writer of uncommon talent, particularly around pacing and visual description * Irish Times *
Rightly lauded as the director behind such celluloid gold as The Crying Game, Michael Collins, and The Butcher Boy, Neil Jordan is also one of Ireland's greatest, if ever-so-slightly unsung, novelists, a fact proven again by his latest work, The Ballad of Lord Edward and Citizen Small * Hot Press *
The historical facts are here, in this beautiful work, laid out like a Dublin street ballad with its verses and chorus and a short afterword, containing a chapter poignantly titled 'The Greatest of These' from Corinthians 13, and Jordan doesn't seek to reinvent these men, rather to enhance them * Sunday Independent *

Author Bio

Neil Jordan is an Irish film director, screenwriter and author. His first book, Night in Tunisia, won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize (1979). He was awarded the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature (1981), the Irish PEN Award (2004), and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award for Shade (2005) and Mistaken (2011), which also received the 2011 Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year. His films include Angel (1982), the Academy Award-winning The Crying Game (1992), Michael Collins (1996) and The Butcher Boy (1997).