Other Literary Forms
(Literary Essentials: Short Fiction Masterpieces)
Benedict Kiely published several novels, a number of which are set in his native Northern Ireland; others are set mainly in Dublin or in a mixture of Northern Ireland and Ireland. There Was an Ancient House (1955) is based on his year as a Jesuit novice; Proxopera (1977) deals with violence in Northern Ireland in the 1970’s. His nonfiction includes Counties of Contention (1945), on Northern Ireland; Poor Scholar: A Study of the Works and Days of William Carleton, 1794-1869 (1947), a life of the nineteenth century Irish novelist; Modern Irish Fiction: A Critique (1950), literary criticism; A Raid into Dark Corners: And Other Essays (1999); and The Waves Behind Us: Further Memoirs (1999). For many years Kiely wrote weekly travel pieces for the Irish Times; he also published numerous book reviews and critical essays. He was the editor of several anthologies and published children’s literature, such as The Trout in the Turnhole (1995).