A Critical Reappraisal of the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony

Description

This book resituates Francis Sylvester Mahony in an early nineteenth-century literary-historical context, counteracting the efforts of twentieth-century literary historians to obscure his contribution to the emergence of a distinctive Irish Catholic fiction in English. This volume re-explores his ambivalent role as a Catholic unionist contributor to the progressive Tory London periodical, Fraser’s Magazine, examining his use of translation to map out an alternative literary aesthetic of the peripheries. The book also traces the development of his political thinking in his Italian journalism for Charles Dickens’ Daily News, in which he responded to the events of the Famine by finding common cause with Young Ireland, and looks afresh at his final incarnation as a British Liberal commentator on Irish and European affairs for the Globe newspaper. More broadly, the book seeks to re-evaluate Mahony’s cosmopolitan writings in relation to the multifaceted, transnational perspectives on Irish, British, and European affairs presented in his essays and journalism. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Biographical Overview SECTION 1 1 Centrally Peripheral, Peripherally Central: The “Prout Papers” of Francis Sylvester Mahony William Maginn, Cork, and Fraser’s Magazine The “Prout Papers” Mahony and O’Connell Classicism and Cultural Continuity Peripheral Considerations? Conclusion 2 “Oppression Makes a Wise Man Mad”: Representations of Jonathan Swift in the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony Economic Patriot? Fictional Considerations: Sincerity and Irony Conclusion 3 “Attaining Majority” in the Celtic Peripheries: Francis Sylvester Mahony, Walter Scott, and “The Groves of Blarney” “A Plea for Pilgrimages” Antiquarianism and Narrative History “The Groves of Blarney” Conclusion 4 The Politics of Translation in “The Rogueries of Thomas Moore” Moore as Nationalist Commentator (Mis)representing the Irish Past The Politicization of Historical Discourse Equivalence and Politicized Translation Conclusion 5 “Custom Doth Make Dotards of Us All”: Peripheral Perspectives on the Center in the “Prout Papers” and Sartor Resartus Mahony, Carlyle, and Sartor Resartus Intercultural Dialogue: Scottish and Irish Correlations Translating the Center and Periphery Cultural Translation Conclusion SECTION 2 6 “From Cork […] to St. Peter’s Cupola”: The Idea of Italy in the Writings of Francis Sylvester Mahony Mahony and The Daily News Allegorizing Italian History “The Fag End of an Old Reign” “Unfurling the Banner of Reform” Mahony, Young Ireland, and Roman Republicanism Conclusion 7 “The Independent Expression of Public Opinion”: The Paris Correspondence of Francis Sylvester Mahony The Globe Correspondence in Context Parisian Letters Ultramontanism in France Mahony and Archbishop Cullen Progressive Liberalism and Fenian Republicanism Conclusion SECTION 3 8 Fragments, Politics, and “The Bells of Shandon” Literary and Local Contexts “The Bells of Shandon” Critical Reception Conclusion 9 “Shameful Literary Traditions”: Daniel Corkery and the Literary Reputation of Francis Sylvester Mahony Nineteenth-Century Perspectives Irish-Ireland, Daniel Corkery, and Literary Expatriation Interpreting Mahony after Synge and Anglo-Irish Literature Conclusion 10 Cosmopolitanism in the Margins: Francis Sylvester Mahony, James Clarence Mangan, and the Author- Translator in Nineteenth-Century Irish Literature Mahony and Mangan as Irish Catholic Magazinists Indirection and Pseudonymous Authorship Maginn as Precursor and Literary Authority Parodic Translation and Literary Paternity Conclusion Index