''Girl on a Bicycle'' is a 1977 novel by Leland Bardwell (her first). The novel is set in 1940s

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, and deals with the reality of being

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and what it means to be an individual caught up in the momentum of historical change. It is a coming-of-age story for Julie Da Vraire as she makes her way on her own after being socially outcast.

Reception

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

(author of ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'') described the novel as "a period gem". Senator David Norris sees the work as the "best Irish big house novel of the 20th century". Frances Molloy's ''No Mate for the Magpie'', published in 1985, as well as the works of Mary Dorcey and Evelyn Cordon, have been compared to the style of ''Girl on a Bicycle''.

Publication history

*1977: Dublin: Irish Writers Co-operative. - 160 pages. - . - . *2009: Dublin: Liberties Press. - 192 pages. - . - . ::(Chester Springs, Pennsylvania: Dufour Editions - U.S. distributor).

References

Irish historical novels 20th-century Irish novels Irish bildungsromans 1977 debut novels Novels set in the 1940s {{1970s-bildungsroman-stub