The Letters of John McGahern
letters · First published 2021
Author guide
John McGahern Books in Order
John McGahern (1934–2006) was an Irish writer whose six novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and dramatic works examine family, religion, memory, education, sexuality, and social change in Ireland. His novels include The Barracks, The Dark, The Leavetaking, The Pornographer, Amongst Women, and That They May Face the Rising Sun. Amongst Women was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. McGahern also published the memoir Memoir, the essay collection Love of the World, several major short-story collections, and posthumous collections of new and previously unpublished material.
novelsshort storiesmemoiressaysdrama
Catalog record updated .
John McGahern's Newest Book
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Amongst Women
A concise, acclaimed entry point and a representative example of McGahern's mature fiction.
Nightlines
A direct introduction to his precise, atmospheric short fiction.
Memoir
The clearest entry point for readers interested in McGahern's life and the autobiographical foundations of his writing.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (6)
- The Barracks
novel · 1963
Elizabeth Reegan, after years of freedom - and loneliness - marries into the enclosed Irish village of her upbringing. The children are not her own; her husband is straining to break free from the servile security of the police force; and…
- The Dark
novel · 1965
- The Leavetaking
novel · 1974
- The Pornographer
novel · 1979
By “arguably the most important Irish writer since Samuel Beckett” (The Guardian), a character study of a young resident of Dublin who pens erotica for a living, making his money through fantasy while denying the realities of love and sex…
- Amongst Women
novel · 1990
Moran is an old Republican whose life was forever transformed by his days of glory as a guerilla leader in the War of Independence. Now, in old age, living out in the country, Moran is still fighting - with his family, his friends, even…
- That They May Face the Rising Sun
novel · 2002
"Joe and Kate Ruttledge, have come to rural Ireland from London in search of a different life. In passages of beauty and truth, the drama of a year in their lives and those of the memorable characters that move about them unfolds through…
Nonfiction (1)
- Memoir
memoir · 2005
As wise and compelling a book as any of his elegiac and graceful novels. David MitchellThis is the story of John McGaherns childhood; of his mothers death, his fathers anger and bafflement, and his own discovery of literature.Long before…
Short fiction (5)
- Nightlines
short-story-collection · 1970
- Getting Through
short-story-collection · 1978
- High Ground
short-story-collection · 1985
- The Collected Stories
short-story-collection · 1992
- Creatures of the Earth: New and Selected Stories
short-story-collection · 2006
Essays and speeches (1)
- Love of the World
essay-collection · 2009
Plays (2)
- The Power of Darkness
play · 1991
- The Rockingham Shoot and Other Dramatic Writings
dramatic-writings · 2018
Other (1)
- The Letters of John McGahern
letters · 2021
Frequently asked questions about John McGahern
Who was John McGahern?
John McGahern (1934–2006) was an Irish novelist, short-story writer, memoirist, and former national-school teacher. His plain, closely observed fiction explored Irish family life, religion, society, and rural experience.
Sources: archivesearch.library.universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)library.universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)
Where was John McGahern born and raised?
He was born in Dublin in 1934. He spent his early years in Ballinamore, County Leitrim, and after his mother’s death was raised by his father in Cootehall, County Roscommon.
Source: archivesearch.library.universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)
What influenced John McGahern’s writing?
His childhood in Leitrim and Roscommon, including family life and the loss of his mother, strongly shaped his fiction. Books borrowed from Protestant neighbours stimulated his literary imagination, and he later admired writers including Turgenev, Flaubert, Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Evelyn Waugh.
What awards did John McGahern win?
He won the 1962 AE Memorial Award and later received the Macauley Fellowship. Amongst Women was shortlisted for the 1990 Booker Prize and won the Irish Times/Aer Lingus Fiction Prize; he also received a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
Sources: universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)thebookerprizes.com (opens in a new tab)irishtimes.com (opens in a new tab)
Why is John McGahern important in Irish literature?
He is recognised as one of the preeminent Irish writers of the twentieth century, especially for his precise portrayals of western and rural Irish life. His papers at the University of Galway preserve drafts of his novels and stories, underscoring his continuing importance to Irish literary study.
Sources: library.universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)archivesearch.library.universityofgalway.ie (opens in a new tab)