''Fergus'', a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer Brian Moore, was published in 1970, in the United States by

Holt, Rinehart and Winston Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...

. It tells the story of Fergus Fadden, a 39-year-old

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 ...

-born writer living in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, who is haunted by ghosts from his past, including that of his father. Moore's biographer, Patricia Craig, described it as "wholly original, and singularly diverting". Jo O'Donoghue says that, in ''Fergus'', "Moore carries the theme of family influence to an extreme conclusion".

George Woodcock George Woodcock (; May 8, 1912 – January 28, 1995) was a Canadian writer of political biography and history, an anarchist thinker, a philosopher, an essayist and literary critic. He was also a poet and published several volumes of travel wri ...

, reviewing the novel for the quarterly journal ''

Canadian Literature Canadian literature is the literature of a multicultural country, written in languages including Canadian English, Canadian French, Indigenous languages, and many others such as Canadian Gaelic. Influences on Canadian writers are broad both ge ...

'', said: "Fergus's nightmare is never less than convincing. The novel that bears his name is a masterpiece of the best kind of fantasy".

Quote

"Until now, he had thought that, like everyone else, he exorcised his past by living it. But he was not like everyone else. His past had risen up this morning, vivid, uncontrollable, shouldering into his present." (''Fergus'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston, p. 37)

References

1970 British novels 1970 Canadian novels Ghosts in written fiction Novels about writers Novels by Brian Moore (novelist) Novels set in Los Angeles County, California Holt, Rinehart and Winston books {{Canada-novel-stub