''Borstal Boy'' is a 1958
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
book by
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...
. The story depicts a young, fervently idealistic Behan, who loses his naïveté over the three years of his sentence to a juvenile
borstal
A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school.
Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...
, softening his radical
Irish republican
Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate.
The developm ...
stance and warming to his British fellow prisoners.
From a technical standpoint, the novel is chiefly notable for the art with which it captures the lively dialogue of the Borstal inmates, with a variety of the many subtly distinctive accents of
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
intact on the page. Ultimately, Behan demonstrated by his skillful dialogue that working class
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholics are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the Briti ...
s and
English Protestants actually had more in common with one another through class than they had supposed, and that alleged barriers of religion and ethnicity were merely superficial and imposed by a fearful middle class.
The book was
banned in Ireland for unspecified reasons in 1958; the ban expired in 1970.
Adaptations
In 1967, the story debuted as a play, adapted by
Frank McMahon and staged at the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...
in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, with
Frank Grimes
Frank Grimes (born 1947) is an Irish stage and screen actor.
Grimes was born in Dublin. He achieved his first major success as the young Brendan Behan in the 1967 stage adaptation of Behan's autobiography, ''Borstal Boy'', at the Abbey Theatre ...
as the young Behan. The play was a great success, winning McMahon a
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
for his adaptation. The play remains popular with both Irish and American audiences.
A film adaptation, ''
Borstal Boy'', was released in 2000, directed by
Peter Sheridan and starring
Shawn Hatosy
Shawn Wayne Hatosy is an American film and television actor and director. He is best known for his roles in the films '' In & Out'', ''The Faculty'', '' Outside Providence'', '' Anywhere but Here'', ''The Cooler'', and ''Alpha Dog''. He is also w ...
and
Danny Dyer. The Irish band Hothouse Flowers song "The End of the Road" appeared in the soundtrack of the movie.
In 1973, the English rock band
The Faces
Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces—Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (electric bass, vocals), and Kenn ...
recorded a song about the book, which was included on their album ''
Ooh La La''.
The
UK electropop
Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...
group
Chew Lips
Chew Lips was an English dance-pop trio, formed in spring of 2008. It consisted of singer 'Tigs' and multi-instrumentalists James Watkins and Will Sanderson
Career 2008–2009: First steps
Formed in London as a three piece band in the summer ...
take their name from a character in the book.
The novel was reissued by
David R. Godine, Publisher
Godine is a New England based independent book publisher, known for its beautifully published and carefully selected books, primarily nonfiction, literary fiction, and poetry.
History
The company was founded in 1970 by David R. Godine who acted a ...
in 2000.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
1958 novels
Irish autobiographical novels
Book censorship in the Republic of Ireland
Irish novels adapted into films
Novels by Brendan Behan
Novels set in England
Irish political novels
20th-century Irish novels
Censored books
Hutchinson (publisher) books