''The Dalkey Archive'' is a 1964 novel by the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

writer Flann O'Brien. It is his fifth and final novel, published two years before his death. It was adapted for the stage by

Hugh Leonard Hugh Leonard (9 November 1926 – 12 February 2009) was an Irish dramatist, television writer, and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote nearly 30 full-length plays, 10 one-act plays, three volumes of essay, two autobiograph ...

in 1965 as ''The Saints Go Cycling In''.The Saints Go Cycling In
by Hugh Leonard, Irish Playography Database.

Plot summary

The book features a mad scientist, De Selby, who tries to destroy the world by removing all the oxygen from the air. He has also many strange inventions. He exploits the theory of relativity and invents a kind of time travelling machine, which he uses to age his

whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ...

, creating brews that have been aged for many decades in just a few hours.

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

and

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

both have speaking parts in the novel.

, after forging his own obituary to escape being drafted to fight in the Second World War, was serving pints in a small pub.

, on the other hand, appeared in a magical underwater cave and held a conversation with De Selby. The mad scientist De Selby leads the two main characters, Hackett and Mick, to the cave, to witness this conversation. Many prominent elements of the book, particularly De Selby himself, the eccentric policemen, and the atomic theory of the bicycle, were taken from O'Brien's much earlier novel '' The Third Policeman'', because he had not been able to find a publisher for it. The latter novel was published posthumously.

References

External links

* 1964 novels Cultural depictions of James Joyce Dalkey Novels by Flann O'Brien Novels set in Ireland Novels about time travel Irish novels adapted into films MacGibbon & Kee books {{1960s-novel-stub

Plot summary

References

Further reading

External links