Selected Prose of Louis MacNeice

Accompanying Alan Heuser's excellent selection of MacNeice's literary criticism, this new volume covers the sweep of his many ardently pursued interests outside the strictly literary: philosophy and travel, history, autobiography, Ireland (the country of his birth, and one of the mainsprings of his writing of both prose and poetry), India, Greece, and rugby football. The volume also contains the `London letters' written during the Blitz, and a previously unpublished piece: Northern Ireland and her People.

These writings convey all the visual perceptiveness, humour and seriousness MacNeice's personality, and throw new light on his particular gifts as a writer of prose. The complete bibliography of the shorter prose, included in Selected Literary Criticism of Louis MacNeice (OUPO, 1987), is repeated here, with additions and corrections, and there is annotation and an index.