In the aftermath of the global success of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, both novel and film, this roundtable discussion brings together critics and writers to discuss the challenges and opportunities of historical fiction. Specifically, it will consider the challenges of writing historical fiction about sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ireland, a period so dominated by tales of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, of Shakespeare, of Thomas Cromwell, of Hamlet and Hamnet. What can historical fiction teach us about the past? What makes for ‘authentic’ historical fiction? How does fiction about early modern Ireland write ‘against the grain’, write the experience of colonialism, of ‘rebellion’, countering the grand narratives of Elizabethan glory? How does historical fiction for children intersect with the teaching curriculum when it comes to this period? How do questions of language play into the work and methods of historical fiction? This is a bilingual event (English and Irish). The contributors are Prof. Marie-Louise Coolahan (University of Galway), Dr Deirdre Serjeantson (University of Cambridge) and author Liam MacCóil (author of the Lucas Ó Briain trilogy, An Litir ; I dTír Stráinséarach and Bealach na Spáinneach ), who will also read from his work. This event is the Annual Lecture event of the Society for Renaissance Studies (UK and Ireland), in collaboration with the National Library of Ireland .

Description supplied by the event organiser.