Rating: 
Summary: Micro History
Review: This is the first time I have seen the term that titles these comments. The other term that may be a bit too specific is Cultural Biography, but as this book does not focus on a individual, is perhaps less accurate. Any readers looking for sensationalized tabloid nonsense should look elsewhere for this is a scholarly work that uses the death of Mrs. Cleary as a centerpiece around which is built the history of the time, the politics of The Home Rule Bill, as well as the entire culture surrounding Fairy belief. This is about why this death took place and how varied and complex were the factors that made the event possible. This is a serious study of a late nineteenth century event, so while there are pictures, you will find none that exploit the victim. This again is another indicator of the serious nature of the work as opposed to prurient trash.Ms. Angela Bourke did a remarkable job of communicating an event that done with less skill would have been miserable. The Author had to make sense of a Catholic Priest performing a Mass during this crime, and then behavior that most would consider bizarre that bracketed the clerical visits. She shares the significance of earthen structures as old as 1500 years that to this day play a role in Irish Life. As micro implies if an issue was raised it was explained in detail. Religion versus Superstition, the use of certain words and phrases during trial proceedings that were meant to link The Irish with the, "savages", of Africa so as to raise the question in the newspapers for months as to the Irish peoples ability, their fitness for Home Rule was debated. There are also some fascinating background pieces that include Oscar Wilde, and the Marquess of Queensberry. How their legal fisticuffs (pun intended) were relevant again to Home Rule, and the case that is the subject of this book. The book is exceedingly well written, meticulously documented, and is a tribute to the craft of writing good History. I hope Ms. Bourke pens many more. Great read!
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