NYRB Classics discussion

The Tenants of Time (e-book only)



Publication Date: April 5, 2016 (e-book only)
Pages: 824
Originally published in 1988.
The second book in a loose trilogy that includes The Year of the French and The End of the Hunt.

The latter half of the nineteenth century; Ireland, England, America–the sweep of The Tenants of Time is epic, yet the effect, page by page, is to create a telling intimacy. One believes in these tenants of time. The powerful and the humble, the rich and the dispossessed–they have an unforgettable life here, in and beyond fiction.

The action evolves in a complex web that takes us into the vast estates of the aristocracy, peasant cottages, sleepy market towns, Dublin, London, the immigrants’ New York and Chicago. But the web begins in Kilpeder, the seat of the Earls of Ardmor, where three friends–Hugh MacMahon, Robert Delaney, and Edward Nolan–are among the sixty young men who take part in the Rising there: an advance on the headquarters of the Royal Constabulary and a retreat to Clonbrony Wood and surrender. But the experience of that single day, from dawn to nightfall, seals a bond between the three friends that determines the course of their lives.

Just to be sure, you are aware these are e-book only, right? To my knowledge, this is the first time NYRB Classics has done e-book only for one of their releases. Hopefully it will be followed some day with a physical release :-) .

Ah, good! I have never read anything in this trilogy, and I also love books about Ireland's history. Have you read Farrell's Troubles? I remember starting it a bit unwillingly (it's long -- like these!), but all of that dropped away soon and I loved it all.

Moved from February 2 to March 1.

Moved to April 5.

Cover added!

You can buy this for your e-reader now!