The Gresham Publishing Company. 



The Cabinet of 

 Irish Literature 



umcs, super-royal Svo, cloth • 



Selections from the Works of the Chief 

 Poets, Orators, and Prose Writers of 

 Ireland. Edited by Charles A. Read, f.r.h.s., 

 and Katharine Tynan Hinkson. In 4 vol- 

 gilt edges. 



iilson Kernahan 



As there is an Irish Nationality, so there is an Irish Literature, in 

 which that Nationality has found expression. And what a magnifi- 

 cent Literature it is ! how brilliant the roll of Irish writers from Swift, 

 Steele, and Goldsmith, to Sheridan, Grattan, Moore, and the score of 

 gifted men and women who are identified with the present renaissance 

 of Irish letters ! 



The Cabinet of Irish Literature is an attempt to give every 

 Irishman, every Irish household, a share in the priceless treasures 

 with which the literary genius of the race has enriched mankind. 



It I'l In;, \, iliiii III! compass of a single great work a representative 

 Si 1. 1 1 I 1^ best in Irish Literature. Not, be it said, the 



ulcl li i I I! : I : llie old Irish tongue; of that most is unknown 



to til' j'i'i|i!i it I li, though a good deal of it, in translation, will be 

 found in litis bool^. By Irish Literature is meant the Literature read 

 and understood by the Irishmen of the present day — the expression 

 of the ideas they really feel, of the life they truly live, in Mayo, in 

 Limerick, in Cork, and in Deny. 



It is a selection made without fear or favour, free from any bias, 

 religious, political, or socia^. Merit is the only passport to its pages. 



every great Irish writer. We are 

 qualities of his work. 



It deals not only with the past but \\ 

 illustrative ev+racls the great revival in 

 Hyde, George Bernard Shaw, Nora Hop] 

 O'Neill, are a few among the many score 



No Irishman who is proud of his nt 



It gives, in brief pointed biographical notices, the life-history of 

 nabled to realize the personality of the man as well as appreciate the 



itlt I'll' pti' 1" : nnd it is the only work that brings home to us by 

 111 '1 i : 1: li It is now taking place. W. B. Yeats, Douglas 

 111,: ' i ' i iiitis, Richard Ashe King, George Egerton, Moira 



s ot ill I. in; u ; ,[ri > whose works are represented in the Cabinet. 

 itioiiality can afford to be without a work which thus focuses the 

 whole intellectual activity of the race. To the younger generation it will be an inexhaustible source of in- 

 spiration, a priceless influence in forming their taste, in moulding their character— in a word, in perpetuating 

 those qualities which now, as in the past, are associated with the name of Irishman. 



The Cabinet was originally planned by Mr. Charles Anderson Read, but this accomplished Irish poet and 

 novelist did not live to see the fruition of his hopes. His work was 

 completed by Mr. T. P. O'Connor, under wliose auspices the first 

 edition was issued. Now, after the lapse of nearly a quarter of a 

 century, die time has come for a new edition of this monumental work, 

 whicn shall take due account of the extraordinary activity in Irish 

 tetters during the intervening years. Under the able editorship of 

 Miss Kathanne Tynan (Mrs. Katharine Tynan Hinkson), herself one 

 of Ireland's most distinguished writers, the work has been thoroughly 

 revised and brought down to the present hour. 



In its get-up it is all that a book of its great importance should be. 

 The illustrations are many and of the highest artistic value. Some of 

 the most eminent black-and-white artists of the day, including John 

 H. Bacon, Charles M. Sheldon, W. Rainey, R.I., G. P. Jacomb- 

 Hood, R.I., and 'W. H. Margetson, have been commissioned to illus- 

 trate typical scenes from the masterpieces of our literature, and these 

 drawings, rendered by the latest processes of photographic reproduc- 

 tion, and printed on specially prepared paper, add an unique charm 

 to the work. The Cabinet is further embellished with a large num- 

 ber of photographs of the most eminent Irish writers; and the cover 

 design, in gold upon green cloth, is the work of Talwin Morris, the 

 •veil-known designer. 



Prospectus of any Book post free. 



