Big houses are a feature of Ireland: our countryside is dotted with these mansions—or at the least their ruined remains. The role of the Big House—a specifically Irish term meaning a rural country mansion—charts a history beginning in the 16th century when the Protestant ascendancy began building these grand houses and through to their decline around the time of Irish independence. They were literally ‘big’ but also as Elizabeth Bowen writes, “have they been called ‘big’ with a slight inflection—that of hostility, irony? One may call a man ‘big’ with just that inflection because he seems to think the hell of himself.” These houses demonstrated the clear separation between the Anglo-Irish who lived in them and the Irish Catholics who worked the land.
In my novel, Fair Play, a group of friends are celebrating their friend Benjamin’s birthday. They are staying in a grand house in the Irish countryside—one that has been allowed to go to wrack and ruin because of the financial status of the original owners but which has now been renovated and turned into that most modern of properties: an Airbnb. They spend the night eating, drinking and playing a murder mystery game devised by Benjamin’s sister Abigail. In the night, something happens: the house shape-shifts around them so that it now resembles something straight out of a Golden Age detective novel.
The Big House also became a feature of Irish writing: in the early days of the genre, these novels were written by people who were living on grand estates. Their authors were predominantly women and included Maria Edgeworth and the writing duo Somerville and Ross. In the twentieth century, writers began to write more about the precarious position of the Big House as significant political and social changes were being made in Ireland. Society was moving on and the occupants of these houses found themselves suddenly out of step with contemporary feeling. More recently, Big House novels or subversions of them are being written by people who have no personal connection to that culture. Here is a selection.
Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
Widely regarded as the first Big House novel, Castle Rackrent was published anonymously in 1800. It is presented as the memoir of Thady Quirk, the loyal steward to the Rackrent family, and charts the decline of four generations of heirs. It is a sharp satire of the absentee landlord system and the mismanagement of grand estates. Maria Edgeworth spent most of her life in Edgeworthstown, County Longford and this book was influenced both by her own family history and her experience of assisting her father in the management of their estate.
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
Elizabeth Bowen was also raised in a historic country house and her novel The Last September is set in a similar mansion to her own in County Cork and set during the Irish War of Independence. During this time, many manor houses were being burnt down by the IRA—a great fear of Bowen’s at the time. The story centres on Lois Farquar, whose romantic entanglements and personal growth are intertwined with the larger political turmoil surrounding her. The novel explores themes of loss, identity, and the inevitable decline of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy.
Langrishe, Go Down by Aidan Higgins
Inspired by his own Catholic landed gentry background, Langrishe Goes Down is Aidan Higgins’ modernist take on the Big House novel. The story follows the fates of the remaining members of the Langrishe family—three sisters who continue to live together in the decaying family home. The majority of the novel focuses on Imogen and her past affair with a German student named Otto Beck.
Good Behaviour by Molly Keane
The story is narrated by Aroon St. Charles, who reflects on her childhood and the deteriorating social world of her aristocratic family. The book’s exploration of societal expectations, complex family relationship and the decline of the Anglo-Irish gentry reflect Molly Keane’s own upbringing on a decaying grand estate with a domineering mother. Keane was away at school when her family’s Big House was burnt down in 1921. Good Behaviour is a darkly comedic novel and Keane’s publisher of decades initially refused to publish it on the basis that it was too nasty.
Snow by John Banville
Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called out to investigate a murder at Ballyglass House, County Wexford, where the local Catholic priest has been found brutally murdered. The crime causes, or exacerbates, a divide between the Protestant occupants of the Big House and the wider Catholic community. As St John Strafford, himself a Protestant, digs deeper into the case, he uncovers layers of family secrets, political intrigue, and religious tensions, all set against the backdrop of the divided local community.
An Evening of Long Goodbyes by Paul Murray
Paul Murray’s debut is a modern and darkly comic take on the classic Big House novel. 24-year-old Charles Hythloday enjoys lazing about his family’s mansion squandering his inheritance. But the bills start to pile up, his sister Bel’s new boyfriend is clearly casing the joint, and his alcoholic mother returns from a stint rehab determined that he should get a job. A story of a man living in denial.
The Likeness by Tana French
The Likeness is a psychological mystery that follows Detective Cassie Maddox as she investigates a murder. Detective Maddox is called to a crime scene where a woman has been found dead, and shockingly, the victim looks almost exactly like her. The deceased had been living amongst a group of students in a dilapidated mansion called Whitethorn House which they were in the process of restoring. Cassie joins the group to try and uncover the truth behind Lexie’s death, but as she immerses herself in the lives of the students, Cassie finds herself drawn to them, blurring the lines between her investigation and her own emotions.
The Tainted by Cauvery Madhavan
This novel opens in India in 1920 where we meet star-crossed lovers, Irish solider Michael Flaherty and the Anglo-Indian Rose Twomey. We then fast forward to the 1980s where we are introduced to Rose’s grandchild and her husband, a scion of a Big House in Co. Kildare. The novel deals with the complexities of post-colonial identity: the Anglo-Irish who will never be Irish enough, the Anglo-Indians who pine for a home which will never accept them and the Irish members of the British Army who found themselves ostracised on their return to Ireland after the war.