Naula O'Faoilain's new novel is abased on the story of an interesting Irish woman who stole her family money from her poor Longford household to go to America to become a mobster. Ben Macintyre finds it neither a novel nor a biography
This story was submitted for the RTÉ Francis Mcmanus Award 2005, and was broadcast on RTÉ Radio One. Pádraig Standún is a priest and novelist who has had novels published in English and Irish,as well as writing for theatre, television and magazines.
James Fenton wonders if this revised book on the life of Wordsworth contains too many of the biographer's opinions
The Ballymaloe chef's latest recipe book guides amateur cooks through the potential pitfalls of entertaining at home. Kevin Burke grabs his apron
Derek O'Halloran looks through the lens of the travelling priest Father Browne with the latest volume of his archive photographs
There was a time when the world's ills could be effortlessly improved. Midnight feasts, lashings of ginger beer, a friendly policeman, friends always calling, good guys always winning. In the years since Enid Blyton's audience have grown up and discovered a harder world than she predicted, Blyton's own persona has taken a battering.
She watched the sk darken, threatening rain. "There's no light at all these days," she said. "It's been the darkest winter. I hate the rain or the cold, but don't mind it at all when there's no light." Father Greenwood sighed and glanced at the window. "Most people hate the winter," he said. She could think of nothing more to say and hoped that he might go now. Instead, he reached down and pulled up one of his grey socks, then waited for a moment before he inpsected the other and then pulled that up too. " "Have you seen Frank lately?" he asked
Political analysts predict the 2008 US presidential election could be a lady's contest. Robin Toner looks at the contenders
As the execution of Stanley 'Tookie' Williams on 13 December in California captured the world's attention, another Williams, who narrowly escaped that fate, has written of life on death row. By Marina Da Silva
America's war on drugs in South America is just as unsuccessful as its current war on terror. David Shanks reviews Chemical Warfare in Colombia