Roy Foster

Sins of the fathers | 13 December 2018

Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and W.B. Yeats all had thoroughly eccentric fathers, who provided inspiration as well as an awful warning

  • Mad, Bad, Dangerous to Know: The Fathers of Wilde, Yeats and Joyce

    Colm Tóibín

    Viking, pp. 185

Already a subscriber? Log in

This article is for subscribers only

Get a free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label when you subscribe to The Spectator for just £12 in our Black Friday sale

Offer extended due to popular demand: ${days} days ${hours} hrs ${minutes} mins ${seconds} secs
  • Free bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky, worth £30
  • Unlimited access to our website and app
  • Enjoy Spectator newsletters and podcasts
  • Explore our online archive, going back to 1828

Read next

Trending

Lucy Vallance

How to prevent another Gregg Wallace scandal

‘Huw Edwards, Russell Brand, Jermaine Jenas, Phillip Schofield, Gregg Wallace… when will it end?!’ read the message from a friend. Sadly, the answer is that it won’t anytime soon. The media scandals that explode into the headlines – such as those surrounding Gregg Wallace, who is alleged to have made inappropriate comments while working on Masterchef

More on biography

Also by Roy Foster

Latest

Comments

Join the debate

Comments are subscriber only. Subscribe to The Spectator today.

Already a subscriber? Log in