Heinrich Böll and Ireland

More about the book

Nobel Prize winning author Heinrich Böllâ (TM)s Irisches Tagebuch (Irish Journal) which was first published in 1957, has been read by millions of German readers and has had an unsurpassed impact on the German image of Ireland. But there is much more to Heinrich Böllâ (TM)s relationship with Ireland than the Irisches Tagebuch. In this new book, Böll scholar Gisela Holfter carefully charts Heinrich Böllâ (TM)s personal and literary connections with Ireland and Irish literature from his reading Irish fairytales in early childhood, to establishing a second home on Achill Island and his and his wife Annemarieâ (TM)s translations of numerous books by Irish authors such as Brendan Behan, J. M. Synge, G. B. Shaw, Flann Oâ (TM)Brien and Tomàs Oâ (TM)Crohan. This book also examines the response in Ireland to Böllâ (TM)s works, notably the controversy that ensued following the broadcast of his film Irland und seine Kinder (Children of Eire) in the 1960s. Heinrich Böll and Ireland offers new insights for students, academics and the general reader alike.