The Secret Scripture

''The Secret Scripture'' is a 2008 novel written by Irish writer Sebastian Barry.

Plot summary

The main character is an old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to write an autobiography. She calls it "Roseanne's testimony of herself" and charts her life and that of her parents, living in Sligo at the turn of the 20th century. She keeps her story hidden under the loose floorboard in her room, unsure as yet if she wants it to be found. The second narrative is the "commonplace book" of the current chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr Grene. The hospital now faces imminent demolition. He must decide who of his patients are to be transferred, and who must be released into the community. He is particularly concerned about Roseanne, and begins tentatively to attempt to discover her history. It soon becomes apparent that both Roseanne and Dr Grene have differing stories as to her incarceration and her early life, but what is consistent in both narratives is that Roseanne fell victim to the religious and political upheavals in Ireland in the 1920s – 1930s.

Inspiration

The novel was inspired by a story told to him by his mother of an old relative:

The story also ties in with previous novels by Barry, especially ''The Whereabouts of Eneas Mcnulty'', the title character being a brother in law to Roseanne McNulty.

Reception

On '' The Omnivore'', a British aggregator of press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4 out of 5. On Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on 10 critic reviews: 4 "rave" and 5 "positive" and 1 "mixed". In '' Bookmarks'' May/June 2009 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.00 out of 5) with the summary stating, "Again and again the critics cited Barry’s lovely, musical language as one of the greatest treasures of ''The Secret Scripture''".

Awards

It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, one of the most prestigious English literature prizes and the oldest prize in the United Kingdom.

The novel won the Book of the Year at the 2008 Costa Book Awards. This was despite the misgivings of the jury, one of whom, Matthew Parris, said "They agreed that it was flawed, and almost no one liked the ending, which was almost fatal to its success."

At the Irish Book Awards, it won "Novel of the Year" and the Choice Award.

It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, narrowly losing to '' The White Tiger.''

''Book at Bedtime'' adaptation

In May 2008, the novel was adapted and abridged by Neville Teller for BBC Radio 4's '' Book at Bedtime'' with Doreen Keogh and Alex Jennings voicing the roles of Roseanne and Dr. Grene, respectively.

Film adaptation

A film version, also titled ''The Secret Scripture'', was directed by Jim Sheridan and stars Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave. Filming began in January 2015. In February, filming moved to Inistioge, County Kilkenny. Filming completed on 6 March. Other stars include Eric Bana and Theo James as well as Irish natives Jack Reynor, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and Aidan Turner.

References

External links

Review: ''The Secret Scripture'' by Barry Sebastian – TimesOnlineReview: Sebastian Barry: ''The Secret Scripture'' – Salon.comReview: ''The Secret Scripture'' – Guardian.co.uk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Scripture
2008 Irish novels
Costa Book Award–winning works
County Sligo in fiction
Culture in Sligo (town)
Irish novels adapted into films
Novels by Sebastian Barry
Novels set in Ireland
Irish novels adapted for radio