A reading guide
Irish classics
These Irish classics bring together novels, plays, poems and tales for readers new to Irish literature in English. Start with Dubliners for stories of ordinary lives, then explore Wilde's deceptions, Stoker's vampire and Yeats's poems of love and legend.
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Where to start
Another way inThe Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious PeopleOscar WildeChoose a comedy of invented identities and tangled courtships, where the name Ernest matters as much as the men using it.
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Or tryThe Happy Prince, and Other TalesOscar WildeStart with a statue asking a swallow to help poor people, then follow fairy tales of kindness, love and sacrifice.
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The books
Free to start one of the free gifts when you start
Novels and tales
| # | First published | Book | Kind | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1914 | DublinersJames Joyce Children and adults in Dublin seek affection and independence while ordinary circumstances limit their chances of change. | Stories | Free to startRead free |
| 2 | 1890 | The Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde A young man pursues pleasure while his portrait records the sins his unchanged appearance conceals. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 3 | 1897 | DraculaBram Stoker A solicitor discovers danger in a Transylvanian castle before a group unites against a vampire in England. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 4 | 1914 | A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManJames Joyce Stephen Dedalus grows up amid family troubles, religious fears and competing demands as he seeks an artistic identity. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 5 | 1922 | UlyssesJames Joyce Three lives cross during a single Dublin day shaped by work, grief, marriage and thoughts of belonging. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 6 | 1872 | CarmillaJoseph Sheridan Le Fanu A mysterious guest enters a secluded castle, bringing close affection, strange habits and disturbing experiences for Laura. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 7 | 1800 | Castle RackrentMaria Edgeworth A loyal steward praises successive owners of an Irish estate while his stories expose their waste and selfishness. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 8 | 1704 | A Tale of a TubJonathan Swift Three brothers alter inherited coats despite their father's instructions, finding explanations that excuse their departures from his rules. | Novel | Free to startRead free |
| 9 | 1904 | Gods and Fighting MenLady Gregory Irish divine peoples and human warriors encounter battles, love and magic in tales of Ireland and Finn's companions. | Stories | Free to startRead free |
| 10 | 1888 | The Happy Prince, and Other TalesOscar Wilde A prince's statue and a swallow open fairy tales where kindness and sacrifice meet suffering and selfishness. | Stories | Free to startRead free |
Plays and poetry
| # | First published | Book | Kind | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1899 | The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious PeopleOscar Wilde Invented identities help two men escape social duties but entangle their courtships in deceptions about names. | Play | Free to startRead free |
| 2 | · | PoemsW. B. Yeats Irish legends, unreturned love and political conflict meet poems about ageing, war, the body and death. | Poems | Free to startRead free |
| 3 | 1913 | PygmalionBernard Shaw A flower seller's speech lessons become a test of social position when a professor wagers on her transformation. | Play | Free to startRead free |
| 4 | 1907 | The Playboy of the Western WorldJ. M. Synge A stranger arrives at a County Mayo public house and wins admiration by claiming he killed his father. | Play | Free to startRead free |
Questions
What are the most famous Irish classics?
Ulysses, Dubliners, Dracula and The Picture of Dorian Gray are widely recognised Irish classics. For a first choice, consider the kind of story that appeals: Dubliners follows everyday hopes and frustrations, Dracula centres on a vampire threat, and The Picture of Dorian Gray follows pleasure pursued without concern for its harm.
Where should I start with Irish literature?
Start with Dubliners for stories of everyday life in Dublin. Its children and adults seek affection, independence or changed circumstances. For a different mood, choose The Happy Prince, and Other Tales for fairy tales of kindness and sacrifice, or Pygmalion for speech lessons that become a test of social position.
Which Irish classics are short?
The Happy Prince, and Other Tales and The Playboy of the Western World are short starting points, each taking about 2 hours. Choose the fairy tales for kindness, pride and sacrifice, or the play for a stranger whose claim of murder wins admiration in a County Mayo public house.
Which Irish authors wrote Gothic fiction?
Bram Stoker, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and Oscar Wilde wrote Gothic fiction. Stoker's Dracula brings a vampire from Transylvania to England, while Le Fanu's Carmilla introduces a mysterious guest into Laura's secluded home. Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray follows a man whose portrait records his sins while he stays young.
What kinds of writing are on this list?
This list brings together novels, short stories, plays, poems and Irish legends. Joyce follows Dublin lives and artistic identity; Wilde and Shaw explore deception and social expectations in plays. Yeats's Poems connects love, myth and public conflict, while Gods and Fighting Men recounts the battles, hunts and loves of divine peoples and warriors.
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Read and hear all of them
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