Phaeton Publishing

Phaeton is committed to excellence in book content, illustration, and production, and specialises in the publication of engaging books (both print and e-formats) of international interest for thoughtful readers. It was established in 2007 and is based in Dublin, Ireland. Follow @PhaetonBooks

• Recently Published • & Upcoming (see more below) >>
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Confident French • Other Phaeton Titles – Click on book-cover thumbnails below for a direct route to these books' webpages >> • Click for Videos >>

Just published:

OUR TROUBLES —Stories of Catholic Belfast during the Troubles of 1968-1998
by Anthony Canavan

Consultant Editor of Books Ireland magazine.

A collection of compelling and honest stories of what passed for “ordinary” life during the Troubles of 1968 to 1998 in the North of Ireland – particularly the hot spot of North Belfast, from where the author hails and which accounted for one in six of the deaths in the Troubles.
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420343
ISBN (paperback): 9781908420336

Reviews:

"…Our Troubles is poignant, funny, and sad. It brought me back to my child-hood, a time I look back on with fondness but to which I never want to return." —Tim McGarry, writer of the BBC television comedy series Give My Head Peace.

Recently published:

The Festival of Brigit —Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman
by Dr Séamas Ó Catháin

Professor Emeritus at U.C.D., and former Director of the National Folklore Collection.

A widereaching study of the Festival of Brigit – Imbolc, on February 1st – reissued in extended and updated format, to mark Ireland's newest national holiday introduced in 2023.
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420312
ISBN (paperback): 9781908420329

Reviews:

"… A fascinating read, showing the complexity and strength of oral traditions and the very strong links between belief and material culture, a link that archaeologists are sometimes inclined to ignore as opposed to trying to come to terms with its complexity, as Professor Ó Catháin has done so successfully here." — Archaeology Ireland

"…this is an interesting and stimulating book, fascinating in its detail…" — Edinburgh University Press

"… some very interesting aspects of the celebration of Brigit emerge, some of which the author considers, others of which will prompt investigation by other researchers. The extent to which this volume can excite, by its citation of sources, and its bringing together of analogues, is a tribute to the author." — Nordic Yearbook of Folklore

Recently published: —[now with new Book Video!]

Behind a Georgian Door —Perfect Rooms, Imperfect Lives
Contemporary Stories set in Dublin's Georgian Terraces
by Artemesia D'Ecca
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420152
ISBN (paperback): 9781908420145

Chosen "BOOK OF THE WEEK" by THE LADY magazine, London:

"Dublin's Georgian townhouses act as settings, characters and multilayered symbols in three compelling novellas, set after the financial crash of 2008… These deeply affecting stories depict a precarious world of evictions and repossessions… A powerful study of the human cost of financial collapse." —The Lady, London

"A Stylish Production and Undoubtedly Stylish Tales." —Books Ireland Magazine

"There is wit and charm here but also portrayals of the hardships and cruelties that lie beneath the surface… D'Ecca has performed the challenging task of dealing with difficult subjects with a light touch and even humour." —Midwest Book Review, U.S.A.

Recently published:

French Cinema in Close-up — La Vie d'un acteur pour moi
edited by Dr Michaël Abecassis, University of Oxford,
with Marcelline Block, Princeton University
ISBN (pbk): 9781908420114

Chosen (March 2016) as one of the Best Reference Titles of 2015 by Library Journal, New York —“There may be other biographical dictionaries of the French cinema, but none with such engagingly written biographies as this one. …” —Library Journal, New York, (2016).

An insight into French film through its actors : illustrated profiles of 175 actors and actresses of the French Cinema, with caricatures by Jenny Batlay and Igor Bratusek.

Illustrated Mini Dictionary of French Actors & Actresses
— Mini dictionnaire des acteurs et actrices français.

With a comprehensive Index (and descriptions) of 2,200 French, Continental, and English-language Films.

Recently published:

Poverty in Ireland — Szegénység Irlandban
A Hungarian's startling account of pre-Famine Ireland in 1837
by Baron József Eötvös
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420206
ISBN (paperback): 9781908420213 [comprehensively indexed]

First complete Translation into English, by Paul SOHAR and László BAKOS.
An illustrated dual-language book with English and Hungarian on facing pages.

In the decade before the Great Famine, the suffering caused by poverty in Ireland was far worse than anywhere else in Europe – unnecessarily so, it seemed to many. In an account originally published only in Hungarian [in the first volume of Budapest Journal ('Budapesti Szemle')] in 1840, the Hungarian statesman József Eötvös described the horrific conditions that existed in Ireland of the 183os, analysing why the life of the Irish poor should be so much harder and more perilous than the life of the English poor, under the same government.

'…acutely accurate …a vivid and gripping tale …totally contradicts the official story of Ireland peddled by its then administrators.' —Books Ireland magazine

'The Tragedy of the Irish – through Hungarian eyes… should be among the recommended readings for the responsible citizens of the European Union…' —Central European Political Science Review

'Baron József Eötvös, a campaigner for the freedom of the serfs, was horrified by what he witnessed…"unlimited and self-serving powers over the people"…' —History Ireland magazine

'Highly interesting, excellent publication in content and format.' —Paul Bődy, author of Joseph Eötvös and the Modernization of Hungary 1840-70, American Philosophical Society.

'…The Irish tenant does not know comfort. His home is a mud hut, with glassless window opening and no chimney. His children and wife cover their naked bodies in rags, and their clothes are so poor that in many places the priest holds two Masses on Sundays, so that one part of the household, after returning from Mass, can hand over their clothes to the others, so that they can go to church in them as well. …'

Recent:

Confident French from A to Z
—A Dictionary of Niceties and Pitfalls
by Dr Michaël Abecassis, The University of Oxford
with 85 illustrations by Igor Bratusek, Sorbonne.
ISBN (pbk): 978-1-908420-18-3
An easy guide to the subtleties of modern French usage — a sure cure for doubt.

AMOUR
Amour is masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural.
Amour was feminine in Old French.
Ils regrettent plus que tout leurs amours perdues. [They regret their lost loves more than anything.]
In the singular, however, it is now used as a masculine noun, with reference to le Dieu Amour.
    Cupidon le dieu de l’amour a décoché sa flèche pour lui percer le cœur. [Cupid, the god of love, shot his arrow to pierce his/her heart.]
…
BENJAMIN / CADET
Benjamin: youngest child of a family or group.
Cadet: child who is not the oldest of his/her family; child immediately after the oldest.
    Elle est la benjamine.
    Il est le cadet de la famille. …

Recent:

Jumping the Border
—An Autobiography
by Séamas Ó Catháin,
Illustrated with photographs and maps of Ireland and Lapland
ISBN (pbk): 978-1-908420-26-8
ISBN (hbk): 978-1-908420-27-5
Séamas Ó Catháin, Professor Emeritus at U.C.D. and former Director of the National Folklore Collection, writes of his schooling just north of the border in Tyrone: 'I learned little or nothing about the island of Ireland, but could soon list by heart – and accurately map – the rivers of England.' To learn Irish, he crossed the border to the then unchanged Donegal Gaeltacht of 'Na Cruacha'
He describes life growing up beside the 'hard border' of the 1940s and 1950s –
'An artificial border, policed by little corporals, that was the bane of our lives. … If you happened to arrive at the border after the post had closed for the night, you had to stay put until the following morning or take the risk of "jumping the border". Jumping the border meant you had to jump it back the other way in order to make a legitimate exit in the future.'

Also available in Irish – Eagrán Gaeilge le fáil comh maith —

De Léim thar Teorainn
—Dírbheathaisnéis
le Séamas Ó Catháin,
210 leathanaigh agus 80 léaráidí
ISBN (clúdach bog): 978-1-908420-28-2

"A Gem…" "Leabhar an-bhreá Jumping the Border /De Léim thar Teorainn – bhaineas an-taitneamh as, agus táim cinnte go mbainfidh na léitheoirí sult as." —RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
"Is beag duine nach mbainfeadh taitneamh as an gcuntas beathaisnéise seo …is blaiseadh iontach é an leabhar seo de shaol eachtrúil.' —Iris Comhar

Upcoming:

Ferenc MARTYN —from Castlebar to Kaposvár

with translations by Paul Sohar
ISBN (pbk): 978-1-908420-25-1 [upcoming]

Containing the Irish-themed works of Ferenc Martyn, and works (from his 1926-1939 period in Paris) which he donated to Ireland.
Containing his family biography (from 18th century Ireland to 20th century Hungary), with essays on his Abstraction-création period in Paris, and appreciations of his art, with contributions by his pupil and major Hungarian artist Lantos Ferenc, and by Marianne Polgár, and with previously unpublished writings by Ferenc Martyn.

A colourful celebration of the life, works, and Irish connections of Hungary's foremost abstract artist, whose ancestor emigrated from Castlebar, County Mayo, in 1790.

Cover Images: Ír király /King of Ireland [above], and Írországi emlék térképpel /Memories of Ireland with Map [below], by Ferenc Martyn (reproduced by kind permission of the Martyn Ferenc Múzeum in Pécs and the Rippl-Rónai Múzeum in Kaposvár, Hungary).

Upcoming:

Before Ireland Starved
—The 1830s 'New Deal' that Could Have Saved It
by Dr Richard Whately and others

ISBN: 978-1-908420-22-0 [upcoming]

In 1836, the British Government received a report on Irish poverty, which, if put into effect, would have changed Irish history. The deadly Great Famine of the 1840s would not have happened, and the millions who died horribly in that decade would have survived.
Instead of acting on the report, however, the shocked London Government suppressed it immediately.
That remarkable, and now almost unknown, report came from Dr Richard Whately, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, who, after making a prolonged and unprecedented study of Irish poverty, decided to ignore the Government’s wishes, and recommended instead a radical transformation of Ireland – at the expense of landlords and the Empire.
After criticizing the English for using its Penal Laws to reduce the Catholic Irish to a state of poverty unknown anywhere else in Europe, he proposed they should redress this by an extraordinary programme of investment in Ireland: building houses, creating a model farm in every parish, extensive public works, education, elaborate assistance at ports of departure and arrival for those who wanted to emigrate – and much more.
The background to this surprising and brave report (made a decade before the Great Famine, and in plenty of time to save Ireland from the consequences of it) make one of the most heartbreaking – and least known – stories in Ireland’s sad history.

Recent:

The Club at Eddy's Bar by Zoltán Böszörményi
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420077
ISBN (ebook): 9781908420084

"…totally compelling … incredibly gripping, page-turning, and a huge plot twist as well.
I thoroughly, thoroughly, recommend it." —Janice Forsyth, The Culture Studio, BBC Radio Scotland

In the last years of the Cold War, a private club is a magnet for the elite of an Eastern European city. They keep one another's secrets, even the truth about a brutal murder. When a young journalist learns too much, he has to flee the country.
From a refugee camp he reaches Canada—a different world on the surface, yet the forces that destroy or enrich lives are the same as in his homeland: infatuation, jealousy, wealth, greed, and, for the lucky few, love.
A gripping murder mystery, this is also a deeply perceptive tale of power and money, of fidelity and infidelity.

Cover image from a drawing by Hungarian artist Ferenc MARTYN.

No Matter Where I Am, I See the Danube by Thomas Kabdebo
ISBN (hardback): 9781908420046
ISBN (ebook): 9781908420053

Shortlisted for Le Prix du livre européen, 2012 (Europe Book Prize, 2012)

[click here (or on the cover image) for details of the book and its author]
[click here for information on the historical background to this book]

A gripping personal story that is also the dramatic story of 20th century Hungary.

Extremely Entertaining Short Stories by Stacy Aumonier
ISBN (hbk): 9780955375651, (pbk): 9780955375637
ISBN (ePub & Kindle eBook): 9780956105554

Stories of WORLD WAR I and the 1920s
Edited by Sheila Jones

'… in England, my first trip there in 25 years … I bought the new Phaeton collection of Extremely Entertaining Short Stories by Stacy Aumonier … Back now in New York, it's a heavy volume to cart back and forth as subway reading, but it's well worth the weight!' —Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal, New York, 2009.
' … The recently published collection of Aumonier's Extremely Entertaining Short Stories has certainly helped bring this overlooked talent to a new audience. Aumonier's stories are not only hilarious, full of wit and genuine warmth for his subjects, but also beautifully constructed insights into the various absurdities of human behaviour, be it in the drawing rooms of London high society or the trenches of World War I.' —BBC Radio 4 Programmes, 2011.
'Forgotten Author, Stacy Aumonier … , like O.Henry and Saki, could condense a life into a few pages. … In the 1920s, he became unrivalled as a short story writer. … Perfect with a hot toddy on a cold night.' —Christopher Fowler, The Independent, London, 2011.
'Stacy Aumonier is one of the best short-story writers of all time.' —John Galsworthy (winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature).

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