The Convictions of John Delahunt
A Story of Murder
by Andrew Hughes
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Pub Date 13 Mar 2014 | Archive Date 30 Mar 2014
Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday Ireland
Description
Dublin, 1841. On a cold December morning, a small boy is enticed away from his mother and his throat savagely cut. This could be just one more small, sad death in a city riven by poverty, inequality and political unrest, but this killing causes a public outcry. For it appears the culprit – a feckless student named John Delahunt – is also an informant and in the pay of the authorities at Dublin Castle. And strangely, this young man seems neither to regret what he did nor fear his punishment. Indeed, as he awaits the hangman in his cell in Kilmainham Gaol, John Delahunt decides to tell his story in this, his final, deeply unsettling statement . . .
Based on true events that convulsed Victorian Ireland, The Convictions of John Delahuntis the tragic tale of a man who betrays his family, his friends, his society and, ultimately, himself. Set amidst Dublin’s taverns, tenements, courtrooms and alleyways and with a rich, Dickensian cast of characters, this compelling, at times darkly humorous, novel brilliantly evokes a time and a place, and introduces a remarkable new literary voice.
A Note From the Publisher
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Advance Praise
A quite exceptional novel, let alone first novel. Ireland has produced more than its share of fine writers and Mr Hughes is another. The world he creates has echoes of Kafka and Orwell, all the more unsettling because it lies beneath a veneer of early Victorian respectability, and is totally convincing. It draws you in like a trap and the conclusion is unexpected and touching. - C. J. SANSOM, author of Dissolution and Winter in Madrid
I found this novel unputdownable. The story the narrator tells of his gradual involvement in the shadowy world of perjury and betrayal organised by the Dublin police in the 1840s, is fascinating, and the ruthlessness that gradually emerges ischillingly portrayed. It’s a superb evocation of a specific place and time . . . the horrible logic of the plot leads to an entirely plausible though surprising twist. This isa highly sophisticated first novel and whets the appetite for the author’s next. - CHARLES PALLISER, author of The Quincunx
This is a compelling and eerily authentic crime story highlighting the very real and brutal moral dilemmas facing those struggling for survival in 1840s Dublin. Read it and be grateful to be alive in our day and age. - ROBERT GODDARD
A dark, original story wrapped in a wonderful gothic gloom set in a solidly realised and historically plausible version of early Victorian Dublin. And the character of John Delahunt is fascinating - both deeply sinister and at times almost sympathetic: it's a tough act to pull off, but Andrew Hughes manages it with brio. I heard echoes of James Hogg and Robert Louis Stevenson. - ANDREW TAYLOR, author of The American Boy and The Scent of Death
Reminiscent of John Banville's The Book of Evidence . . . a bracing, lurid tale that isas engrossing as it is chilling, and a fascinating glimpse into one of the darker periods in Dublin's history. - IRISH INDEPENDENT
The Irish spy novel comes in from the cold . . . a vivid piece of writing . . . brings to mind Andrew Miller’s Costa-winning novel, Pure. - IRISH TIMES
Andrew Hughes does for early Victorian Dublin what Peter Ackroyd has done for mid-19th century London. This is to create an extraordinarily detailed world, impeccably researched to satisfy any student of history, while also being so superbly writtenthat it soars as a masterly work of fiction . . . utterly compelling *****. - IRISH MAIL ON SUNDAY
John Delahunt is the most charming and lethal sociopath in Irish literature since Freddie Montgomery in John Banville’s The Book of Evidence. - IRISH EXAMINER
An intriguing debut (that) sets out Hughes as one to watch. - SUNDAY TIMES IRELAND
A skilfully planned, elegantly written debut . . . a riveting read. - SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
Marketing Plan
Set in Dublin in the 1840s and based on the true story of the murder of a child, this dazzling literary debut - at once a historical novel and crime thriller - will appeal to fans of Andrew Taylor, Andrew Miller and Peter Ackroyd.
A strong new addition to the Doubleday Ireland list - Andrew Hughes joins award-winner Donal Ryan (The Spinning Heart) and Alison Jameson (Little Beauty).
Shortlisted for the Ireland AM Crime Fiction Book of the Year in the 2013 Irish Book Awards.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781781620144 |
| PRICE | £14.99 (GBP) |
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