Rosa Mulholland (1841-1921)

This new work sets six important texts (two full texts and four novel extracts) in the context of Rosa Mulholland's writing career, and the cultural context of the time. Mullholland's writing reflects a creative tension between issues of class, gender, religion, land politics, the presentation of the Irish peasantry, Irishness and Victorianism. Rosa Mulholland was an important figure in late nineteenth-century Irish fiction writing. She was the author of dozens of novels, short stories and critical pieces. She came from a Catholic, upper middle class family, married a prominent historian and through her sister was related to the Russell family. Their most prominent members were Matthew Russell JS, editor of the Irish Monthly, and Lord Russell of Killowen, Lord Chief Justice of England. The book is organised in such a way as to give a representative selection of Mulholland's writings in terms of genre (short story, novel extract, essay), theme (famine; middle-class women's aspirations; religion; feminism and the land war; women and ethical decision making; gender and economics; publishing and patriotism) and chronology (1864 to 1908). Interest in Mulholland has been greatly aided by the recovery in feminist literary criticism. She is now regarded as an important figure and this work provides an introductory access to her work to students and scholars.