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Robert Fitzroy Foster

Forfatter af Modern Ireland, 1600-1972

19+ Works 2,202 Members 8 Reviews

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Omfatter også: R. F. Foster (1)

Værker af Robert Fitzroy Foster

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Transactions of the Royal Historical Society - Fifth Series, Volume 33 (1983) — Bidragyder, nogle udgaver4 eksemplarer

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Fødselsdato
1949-01-16
Køn
male
Nationalitet
Ireland

Medlemmer

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https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3281169.html

This is a book based on five lectures given by Roy Foster in Belfast in 2004, published in 2007. It is sobering to realise just how different the world (and Ireland) looked before the crash of 2008. Brexit, of course, is the latest twist in the post-crash settling of world affairs as it affects Ireland (the Trump Presidency is more significant on a global scale, but affects Ireland less). In 2004 (or 2007) it was possible to write a book or set of lectures about the recent past, finish the final paragraph and think, job done. I don't think any historian could confidently do that in 2019.

And in fairness to Foster, he sort-of sees it coming - one of his warnings, particularly in the third chapter which concentrates on Fianna Fail, is that the relationship between property investors and politicians was far too close. The story of Charles Haughey's rampant and blatant corruption is always worth telling again, but this was enabled by a political system that saw no problem with linking property development and executive power. He doesn't completely see it coming, of course; in 2003, 2004 and 2005, Ireland's GNI per capita rose by 20%, 26% and 18%, and it was impossible at that point to envisage that the figures for 2009-12 would be -8% followed by three consecutive years of 4% decline. But historians are supposed to tell us about the past, not the future.

Foster's aim is to explain how Ireland modernised between 1970 and 2000. I don't think he quite manages to convey a grasp of the very big picture (he basically puts it down to luck and accident), but each of the chapters is a good scrutiny of important elements of the story. Chapter two is on the change in status of the Catholic Church; chapter three on Fianna Fail; chapter four on the Republic's attitude to Northern Ireland (where I think he is completely right to say that the South accepted Partition in 1926 and is still not seriously contemplating any other arrangement); and chapter five on the arts and literature. It's tremendously well written, and although some might feel that the critique of Charles Haughey is a bit over the top, the fact is that Haughey himself was well over the top. (Younger readers may need reminding that in the summer of 1982, during Haughey's first government, a nationwide hunt for a man who had killed two people in broad daylight with no apparent motive ended with the murderer's arrest in an apartment belonging to the Attorney-General; not Haughey's own fault, of course, but somehow symbolic of the times.)

Even though the book was out of date within a year of publication, it's a good encapsulation of the era.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
nwhyte | 1 anden anmeldelse | Nov 8, 2019 |
An excellent book, the standout contribution being Declan Kiberd's chapter on Irish literature.
 
Markeret
JohnPhelan | 1 anden anmeldelse | Nov 9, 2015 |
R. F. Foster is a noted historian of Ireland and in this book, he examines and dismantles the often one-sided stories of Irish history, particularly the Republican era. For someone who knows little of Irish history, however, the book can be challenging, and one would need to read more about the subjects Foster discusses in order to better appreciate his work. Also, at times the book is heavy-going with a focus on W. B. Yeats, though since Foster is a biographer of him, then the latter can be excused.… (mere)
 
Markeret
xuebi | May 30, 2014 |
Under the Union between Britain and Ireland in 1801, the two countries were engaged in a relationship that was quarrelsome, contentious and in many ways interdependent. Yet it also provided a wider arena for certain ambitions in literature, politics and the arts. Irish talent was exported to London in the nineteenth century; by the turn of the twentieth it was being imported back to an Ireland undergoing political radicalisation and a cultural renaissance. This book, which accompanies a National Portrait Gallery exhibition, explores the Irish presence in London during the Victorian period, focusing on prominent individuals including the writers Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats and G.B. Shaw; theatrical impresarios such as Bram Stoker; history painters such as Daniel Maclise; charismatic politicians such as Charles Stewart Parnell and colourful journalists such as T.P. O'Connor. Through these influential individuals, the changing perspectives on Ireland that developed during the second half of the nineteenth century are revealed.… (mere)
 
Markeret
rossah | Jul 4, 2012 |

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Værker
19
Also by
1
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Popularitet
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Vurdering
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Anmeldelser
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ISBN
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