Although admired by fellow writers like E. M. Forster, Henry Green
and William Faulkner and winning comparisons with Joseph Conrad and
Dostoyevsky, James Hanley is not as well known as he should be.
Without doubt, he was one of the major British writers of the
twentieth-century. Faber Finds is proud to be reissuing his Furys
saga, making all five novels available for the first time. Before
writing The Furys, James Hanley outlined his plan to his publisher:
'I want to show the downfall of a whole family excepting one, and
that is the woman. That woman is heroic, powerful, exercises a
tremendous influence over her family. I shall show her under every
light. I cannot attempt to describe in detail the amazing lives of
these people, sometimes fantastic, but never, never divorced from
reality. Working class lives are full of colour, of poetry, there
is the stuff of drama in the most insignificant things.' The Furys,
the first in the sequence, is set in Liverpool, renamed Gelton, in
1911. Set during the 'Great Liverpool Transport Strike', it centres
upon a decisive moment in the lives of the Fury family. Fanny Fury
has pinned all her frustrated hopes on her youngest son, Peter.
Struggling against poverty and family resentment, she sends Peter
to train for the priesthood. Seven years later, and in disgrace, he
returns home to face her pain and rage. 'It's great . . . I really
think it is different in quality, texture, atmosphere, view-point,
art and purpose from any other book I know. It's a wonderful thing
to have done. . .The character of the mother is a masterpiece, and
so - only second to her - is Mr Fury. I never recall reading of the
mysterious and involved link between married people so profoundly
and touchingly portrayed.' John Cowper Powys
General
Imprint: |
Faber and Faber
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
April 2009 |
Authors: |
James Hanley
|
Dimensions: |
126 x 198 x 28mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
396 |
Edition: |
Main |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-571-25120-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Fiction >
General & literary fiction >
General
|
LSN: |
0-571-25120-X |
Barcode: |
9780571251209 |
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