Bridget English - Laying Out the Bones: Death and Dying in the Modern Irish Novel from James Joyce to Anne Enright

Bridget English holds a PhD in English from Maynooth University in Ireland. She researches and teaches Irish literary and cultural studies, modernism, and the medical humanities.

Acknowledgments

This project grew out of my research in the Department of English at Maynooth University, Ireland, where I was fortunate enough to benefit from the expertise, general collegiality, and good humor of many friends and colleagues. My thanks especially to Joe Cleary, without whose guidance and intellectual generosity this book would not have been possible and who continues to be an invaluable source of lively commentary, inspiration, and exchange. My deepest gratitude to Conor McCarthy, who likewise contributed immensely to the completion of this study and whose solidarity, advice, and support continue to be a sustaining force. Thanks also to Emer Nolan for her incisive commentary on various drafts and for her good counsel and encouragement. For their inspirational discussions and practical advice, thanks to Amanda Bent, de Corley, Michael G. Cronin, Luke Gibbons, Colin Graham, Sinad Kennedy, Tracy OFlahery, and Stephen ONeill. Special gratitude is owed to Oona Frawley, who provided sage commentary at particularly vexed times and whose insight, kindness, and friendship continue to be a much-valued resource.

Declan Kiberd not only offered his time and astute commentary in reading a draft of the book, but has also remained a constant source of cheerful encouragement and wisdom. A conversation with Margaret Kelleher provided an idea for a much-needed theoretical framework for this project, and I am grateful for her support throughout. Early feedback from Chris Morash was likewise crucial in structuring this project.

At Syracuse University Press, thanks especially to Deborah Manion, Lisa Kuerbis, and Annette Wenda for their encouragement and care with the manuscript. It has been a pleasure to work with all the staff at Syracuse, and I am grateful for their support. I would also like to acknowledge the anonymous readers for Syracuse University Press, whose rigorous, detailed reports, suggestions, and challenges were tremendously useful in revising the manuscript.

Intellectual exchanges and debates with many friends across several countries have shaped the words on these pages and have proved a sustaining source of joy over the years. My deepest thanks to Claudia Luppino, Joanne McEntee, Michaela Markov, Lauren Clarke, Matt Fogarty, Declan Kavanagh, Orla Fitzpatrick, Theresa Harney, Ciara Gallagher, Deirdre Quinn, Maggie ONeill, Alan Carmody, Marion Quirici, Feargal Whelan, and Katie Mishler. Thanks to Elizabeth Mannion for her keen editorial skills and all her help in manuscript preparation and beyond. Not only did Sonia Howell proofread parts of the manuscript, but she and John Dillon have proved endlessly generous in support of all kinds.

Finally, my greatest debt is to my family, without whose care and encouragement none of this would have been possible and whose humor relieved some of the grimmer aspects of researching death and dying. Many thanks to Joan Janis; Maureen and Mary Soldat; Dan, Gail, Daniel, Stephen, and Allison Peters; and the extended Hyland family. Colleen English deserves special thanks for her practical help, feedback, friendly skepticism, and lively debates about death. Deepest gratitude to my parents, Kathleen and Patrick English, who instilled in me a love of learning and a passion for books and whose love and support are unfailing. To them and to the memory of Rita Peters and Robert Soldat, who are not here to see the completion of this project but each of whose steadfast love and unfailing support contributed to its completion in innumerable ways, this book is dedicated.

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