Murder and revenge during the Irish Civil War.
Fools of Fortune is a classic early novel from William Trevor. The Quintons have lived in the old house in Cork for hundreds of years. Though Anglo-Irish Protestant, they sympathize with the cause of independence and secretly fund Michael Collins’s fighters. But one of their workers is an informer to the British, and when he’s murdered on their land, though they know nothing of it, the Black and Tans come seeking revenge.
Till now young Willy Quinton has led a pleasant, cosseted life. But the murder of his father and sisters by British soldiers brings him to a point when he can only contemplate revenge himself. He sets off for Liverpool with hatred in his heart. Will he survive? Will the cycle ever be broken?
Just the Way It Is
I first came across William Trevor in the early nineties when my son came home from school with The Children of Dynmouth, his GCSE set text. I’ve been an ardent fan ever since, although I must...
Read more
