The Professor in Erin - Charlotte Elizabeth McManus

This Ireland I find myself in is unlike the IrelandI was taught about when I was at school ... A German scholar exploring ruins in Dungannon hits his head in a fall. Hewakes to find himself in a parallel universe: an Ireland that never was, free ofEnglish rule since winning the Battle of Kinsale. In this powerful, independentnation, Irish language and culture are flourishing. As Professor Schliemann struggles to make sense of thisunfamiliar world and to try to find his way home, he becomes entangled inpolitical intrigue, espionage, and a long-standing feud over stolen vellumsfeeding dynastic tensions on the brink of war. Worse than that: no one in thisversion of Ireland has read his book. Originally serialised in the early twentieth century and first publishedin 1918, The Professor in Erin is a pioneering work of speculative fiction and anearly example of the `alternative history' novel. Much sought-after byscience-fiction diehards, the book, like the ones fought over in the story, hasbeen hard for modern readers to find, until now. Blending satire with nationalism and imaginative world-building,Charlotte Elizabeth McManus's novel offers a rich and witty vision of analternative Ireland. This lost classic has been edited and introduced by Joachim Fischerwith detailed historical context for new readers.