''Troubles'' is a 1970 novel by J. G. Farrell. The plot concerns the dilapidation of a once-grand Irish hotel (the Majestic), in the midst of the political upheaval during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

(1919–1921). It is the first instalment in Farrell's acclaimed "Empire Trilogy", preceding ''

The Siege of Krishnapur ''The Siege of Krishnapur'' is a novel by J. G. Farrell, first published in 1973. Inspired by events such as the sieges of Cawnapore (Kanpur) and Lucknow, the book details the siege of a fictional Indian town, Krishnapur, during the Indian Reb ...

'' and ''

The Singapore Grip ''The Singapore Grip'' is a novel by J. G. Farrell. It was published in 1978, a year before his death. In 2015, ''The Straits Times Akshita Nanda selected ''The Singapore Grip'' as one of ten classic Singapore novels. She wrote, "Neatly weaving ...

''. Although there are similar themes within the three novels (most notably that of the British Empire), they do not form a sequence of storytelling. ''Troubles'' was well received upon its publication. It won the

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Irish ...

and, later, the

Lost Man Booker Prize The Lost Man Booker Prize was a special edition of the Man Booker Prize awarded by a public vote in 2010 to a novel from 1970 as the books published in 1970 were not eligible for the Man Booker Prize due to a rules alteration; until 1970 the priz ...

. It was adapted into a made-for-television film in 1988, starring

Ian Charleson Ian Charleson (11 August 1949 – 6 January 1990) was a Scottish stage and film actor. He is best known internationally for his starring role as Olympic athlete and missionary Eric Liddell in the Oscar-winning 1981 film '' Chariots of Fire''. ...

and

Ian Richardson Ian William Richardson (7 April 19349 February 2007) was a Scottish actor. He portrayed the Machiavellian Tory politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC's '' House of Cards'' (1990–1995) television trilogy. Richardson was also a leading S ...

. In 2010,

Sam Jordison ''Crap Towns: The 50 Worst Places to Live in the UK'','' Crap Towns II: The Nation Decides'', and ''Crap Towns Returns: Back by Unpopular Demand'', are a series of books edited by Sam Jordison and Dan Kieran, in association with UK quarterly ' ...

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called ''Troubles'' "a work of genius", and "one of the best books" of the second half of the twentieth century. "Had

arrell Arrell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Dave Arrell (1913–1990), Australian rules footballer *James Arrell (1888–1955), American rugby union player See also

*Arrell Gibson (1921–1987), American historian and autho ...

not sadly died so young,"

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...

said in 2008, "there is no question that he would today be one of the really major novelists of the English language. The three novels that he did leave are all in their different way extraordinary."

Plot summary

The novel concerns the arrival of the English Major Archer, recently discharged from the British Army, at the Majestic Hotel on the

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

coast in south-east Ireland in 1919. Both the hotel, and the town in which it is situated, Kilnalough, are fictional. Archer is convinced he is engaged, though sure he had never actually proposed, to Angela Spencer, the daughter of Edward Spencer, the owner of the hotel. She has written to him since they met in 1916 while on leave from the trench warfare of the Western Front. The Spencers are an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

Protestant family, strongly Unionist in their attitudes towards Ireland's ties to the United Kingdom. Archer functions as a confused observer of the dysfunctional Spencer family, representing the Anglo-Irish, and the local Catholic population. As the novel progresses, social and economic relationships break down, mirrored by the gentle decay of the hotel.

Characters

* Major Brendan Archer – ex-Army Officer and fiancé of Angela Spencer. Archer also appears in Farrell's later novel ''

''. * Edward Spencer – owner of the Majestic hotel, his mental decline echoes the physical decline of the hotel itself and also the violence in Ireland. * Angela Spencer – daughter of Edward Spencer. * Sarah Devlin – a young woman the Major meets early in the novel and becomes increasingly obsessed with after Angela's death. Apparently disabled in the early parts of the novel. * Charity and Faith Spencer – younger twin daughters of Edward Spencer. Girls at the start of the novel, they develop into young women and are often depicted as wilful and naive. * Ripon Spencer – Edward Spencer's adult son. Other characters include: * The old ladies staying at the hotel. * Various servants of the hotel, including the elderly "Murphy" and Seán Murphy, a somewhat suspect young groundsman. * The inhabitants of Kilnalough, the village near to the hotel, including Sarah's father, a doctor, a priest and others.

Analysis

Farrell develops the insulated environment of the run-down hotel as a reflection on the attitudes of the historically privileged Anglo-Irish, in denial of the violent insurgency of the overwhelming majority (Nationalists/Republicans). While the

forms the background to the events of the novel, the political upheaval is not treated as a theme. Apart from occasional news reports concerning the war, the only references to it are chance remarks from the novel's characters. The novel's action takes place mostly within the hotel, with the remainder of the scenes taking place almost entirely in the surrounding areas. As a result, the only characters given a major airing are the Major and the Spencer family, which adds to the claustrophobic, unreal mood of the novel.

Reviews

William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016), known by his pen name William Trevor, was an Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the ...

said in ''

'' on 10 October 1970, that the novel was a "clever book" and "a tour de force of considerable quality."

Vivian Mercier Vivian Mercier (1919–1989) was an Irish people, Irish literary critic. He was born at Clara, County Offaly, Clara in County Offaly and educated, first, at Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, and then, at Trinity College Du ...

wrote in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' on 8 November 1971 that Farrell was "a born story-teller".

Television film

In 1988, ''Troubles'' was adapted into a 208-minute film for television. Produced for

LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...

. The film stars

as Major Archer,

as Edward Spencer, and Emer Gillespie as Sarah.

Booker Prize

In 2010, ''Troubles'' was awarded the

, a one-time award chosen among books published in 1970 which had not been considered for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

at the time. The novel, one of six nominated for the 'Lost' prize, had missed out the first time around because rules about publication dates had changed that year. On 19 May 2010, ''Troubles'' was declared the winner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troubles (Novel) 1970 British novels Booker Prize-winning works British novels adapted into films Historical novels Jonathan Cape books Novels by J. G. Farrell Novels set during the Irish War of Independence Novels set in County Wexford Novels set in hotels