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BOOK OF THE WEEK —THE LADY, London

[See Artemesia D'Ecca's article on Irish Georgian architecture in OpenDemocracy New York.]

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Behind a Georgian Door
—Perfect Rooms, Imperfect Lives
by Artemesia D'Ecca

Contemporary Novellas set in Dublin's Georgian Terraces:
'Christmas 2013' (Herbert Place),
'George Washington's Bed' (Upper Pembroke Street),
'Grace Kelly's Dress' (Merrion Square).

132 demy-octavo-size pages, 5 illustrations,
illustrated endpapers,
Hardback ISBN: 978-1-908420-15-2  rrp.:£14.99 /€19.99 /$27
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-908420-14-5 rrp.:£8.99 /€11.99 /$12.99

[• click here to preview sample pages of this book on PDF >]

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. A young couple drift apart as they face the threat of losing their home. A wealthy widow is haunted by her perceived failure as a mother to a bland and money-grubbing son. A woman whose husband died just after their honeymoon becomes a recluse in her vast, inherited house, attended by grateful tenants who could otherwise not afford to live there.
Rooms stand for the characters' emotional ghosts, such as in the case of reclusive Maud, who avoids her opulent dining room where her wedding gifts are still unopened.
The houses have biographies as carefully plotted as their inhabitants. Described in vivid detail, the reconfigurations of interiors – from grand colonial residences to desirable flats, meagre bedsits or modern mansions – chart developments in Ireland's troubled history.
Symbols of a violent colonial past, and of modern-day bankers' greed, the houses are beautiful objects that elicit conflicted responses. These deeply affecting stories depict a precarious world of evictions and repossessions, where acts of kindness sound a bright redemptive note.
A powerful study of the human cost of financial collapse."
— THE LADY  Magazine.

"A Stylish Production, and Undoubtedly Stylish Tales."
— BOOKS IRELAND  Magazine.

"… firmly rooted in modern day Dublin, reflecting Irish society after the economic collapse of 2008… The idea behind the book must draw in anyone…who does not live in one of the grand Georgian houses that characterize Dublin but who has often wondered just what life is like behind those elegant neo-classical doors. …Haunting all the stories is the history of the houses in which the action takes place. …D'Ecca has performed the challenging task of dealing with difficult subjects with a light touch and even humour. …She has imaginatively responded to our curiosity about these old Georgian houses as she reveals three domestic dramas which take place in three different types of household. There is wit and charm here but also portrayals of the hardships and cruelties that lie beneath the surface."
— MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, Wisconsin, USA.

Christmas 2013
—Herbert Place—
A lovingly restored town-house becomes a testing burden for a young family after the financial crash:

… My idea was that we should just 'disappear' – I'd read online about … doing that; we could post the keys of the house to the bank, leave the country, and then vanish from the bank's sight until maybe it couldn't chase us for the debt anymore. I thought we should at least look into the idea of disappearing, but somewhere in Europe, so that Reggie wouldn't lose touch with her grandparents. Martin said the idea was mad.
His preferred idea, as I summed it up for him, was that we'd work ourselves ragged in British Columbia so that we could be in debt forever in Ireland just to keep the stupid house. And he didn't think that was mad? …

George Washington's Bed
—Upper Pembroke Street—
A moment of crisis – and an eighteenth-century bed – bring together an unlikely group in a landmark Dublin terrace:

…The library was the room off the hall at the front of the house. It was a smaller room than Mikey expected. …It was the first Georgian room he had ever seen that you could describe as 'cosy'. There was a small, dark marble fireplace – a simple one, with just two circle things for decoration in each corner – and it looked like Paul used it all the time. There were big double doors…connecting it to the dining room… All the other walls were lined with books and bookshelves, floor to ceiling, except for the chimney breast where there was a tall old painting of a waterfall. …He could see why Paul liked this room. If he were rich and could stand living in Dublin, it would be the kind of place he'd like himself. …

Grace Kelly's Dress
—Merrion Square—
A famous dress and a dining room of family legend – and of family tragedy – inspire a spectacular dinner party in today's Merrion Square:

…'Do you know whose house it was?' my grandmother asked.
'Well, the first owner was Lord something or other, who moved on after the Act of Union, and the second owner was notorious – a hanging-drawing-and-quartering judge. But what can you do if you want a pretty house in the centre of Dublin? – they all have that kind ofhistory. There was Robert Emmett's house on Stephen's Green, of course. That would have been a nice one to buy, but that's the one they decided to demolish.'
'Charlie says he knows people down the country who had their house cleansed when they thought there were bad spirits in it,' my mother said. 'An old man went through all the rooms doing something. We could do that.'…

 

 

 

 

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