The Valley of the Squinting Windows
| Current edition cover | |
| Author | Brinsley MacNamara |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Novel |
| Publisher | Anvil Books |
Publication date | 1918 |
| Publication place | Ireland |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 182 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0900068353 (paperback edition) Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
Valley of the Squinting Windows is a novel by Brinsley MacNamara, set in the village of Delvin, County Westmeath, Ireland. The novel itself never refers to Delvin by name - the setting is "Garradrimna", a fictitious town - and McNamara insisted it could have been any village in Ireland, but the geographical details set it firmly in the village.
Plot introduction
The novel would have been unremarkable except for the tale of Irish life that it told at the time of its publication in 1918, the immediate scandal, and the ensuing ramifications. The novel centred on rural life and the power of gossip, and public perception which people attempted to present of the family and individual and of an inward-looking society, similar to the Keeping up with the Joneses theme. Such was the stir created by the book that the author's father, a schoolmaster, was boycotted and eventually had to leave the area and emigrate; the author himself never returned to the area. The novel also resulted in a high-profile court case by those who thought that they had been described, and there was such bad feeling in the area against the book that it was publicly burned.
MacNamara's novel has been reprinted several times, particularly when interest in the topic re-emerges. "Valley of the squinting windows" has become a colloquial term, particularly in Ireland, for a society obsessed with providing neighbours and peers with a good perception of one's own personal matters.
Release details
- 1918, Ireland, ?, Pub date ? ? 1918, hardback
- 1976, Ireland, Anvil Books ISBN 0900068353, Pub date ? September 1976, paperback
- 1984, Ireland, Anvil Books ISBN 0900068833, Pub date 11 July 1984, paperback
- 1984, Ireland, Anvil Books ISBN 0900068825, Pub date 11 July 1984, hardback
- 1985, Ireland, Anvil Books ISBN 0947962018, Pub date ? September 1985, paperback (in print)