In honour of our latest reissue, John Broderick’s An Apology for Roses, we’re revisiting another of his works, The Pilgrimage, for this month’s Friday Archive. Here’s why it’s worth your while! It was banned in 1961 by the Censorship Board. They always banned the good ones. It sold over 100,000 copies in the U.S.A. as The Chameleons.  It combines an illicit affair with a lovely… … Pilgrimage to Lourdes! What could go wrong? It’s also got a juicy small-town plot (see below) Wealthy Julia Glynn’s husband is seriously ill, and is being tended to by his nephew, Jim, with whom Julia is having an affair. The parish priest advocates a pilgrimage to Lourdes, just as Julia begins to receive anonymous letters detailing her infidelities. As the day…

On Thursday June 16th , don’t be surprised to see the remnants of Edwardian Dublin swaggering around in straw hats and ruffles. It’s Bloomsday, don’t you know! The day to celebrate Ireland’s favourite round-spectacled Nobel Prize winner and his marvellous opus, Ulysses! And the best thing you can do this Bloomsday is to stop off at the National Library on Kildare Street for the launch of The Ulysses Trial: Beauty and Truth Meet the Law, Joseph M. Hassett’s account of the clash between Ulysses and the law of obscenity in the United States. The launch will take place in the National Library of Ireland from 6.30 to 8.30 on June 16th, with guest speaker Roy Foster. So why not take a break from…

Hubert Butler was one of the main reasons that Antony Farrell decided to establish The Lilliput Press in 1984, after discovering that Butler’s work was out of print. In a detailed and intriguing documentary feature HUBERT BUTLER: WITNESS TO THE FUTURE, director Johnny Gogan traces the fascinating life and output of this prolific man. With contributions from Chris Agee, John Banville, Lara Marlowe and more, Witness to the Future is essential viewing for any Butler fan. The film is currently touring nationally, and will be screened in The New Theatre in Dublin’s Temple Bar on Saturday at 3pm, and on Sunday at 4pm and again at 7pm. Tickets are available on the door, and Gogan…

This month’s Friday Archive pick is Overnight to Innsbruck, a thriller by Denyse Woods. It was published by Lilliput in 2002. There’s 10% off it until the end of May! So, why should you buy it? Here are our five reasons: 1 It’s the original Girl on a Train. Sort of. There is a girl on a train, and there is a mystery. We were on to this waaaaay before everyone else. 2 It’s a damn fine thriller Ex-lovers meet by chance on a sleeper train to Innsbruck. What happened to them? Where did they meet, and why did they part? This leads us to the next point… 3 INTRIGUE The drama plays out in some twisty conversations…