Secret Lands: The World of Patricia Lynch edited by Robert Dunbar O'Brien Press 172pp, £8.99
The recognition of Patricia Lynch's place in Irish literature, long overdue, has at last begun with this splendid edition of excerpts from her work compiled by Robert Dunbar. The book begins with an all too brief biography and recollections by Eugene Lambert, puppeteer and friend of the late author. The introduction by Robert Dunbar, critic and lecturer in children's literature, discusses various motifs in Lynch's writing such as the influence of oral story-telling from her early childhood in Cork. He also speaks of her kinship with the Celtic Literary Revival, her patriotic spirit and her Yeatsian "sense of longing", mitigated by humour.
Surprisingly, he does not mention her laudable tendency - one from which most modern writers recoil - to depict unpleasant adults and their cruelty towards children. This kind of honesty is instantly recognised by the young and goes a long way to explain the enormous popularity of Roald Dahl. Nor does Dunbar discuss the relationship between Lynch's writing and childhood pain so clearly delineated in her autobiography.
Dunbar's greatest strength as editor is evident in the selected works themselves. Only a diligent combing through all of Lynch's books could have produced such fine and self-sufficient pieces, each leaving the reader with a desire for more. Not only do they prove her gifts for dialogue and narrative, but they display that seemingly effortless quality of mellifluous language: "Far beyond the grey curtain of rain and spray was Spain, where the sun always shone and grapes and oranges grew like blackberries on brambles."
That many of the books extracted in this collection are out of print is not only a tragedy but a national disgrace. In recent years, Poolbeg Press has reprinted nine of Lynch's books and we can only hope for more, especially a re-issue of her extraordinary autobiography A Story-Teller's Child- hood, last published by The Children's Press.
The question inevitably arises, however, concerning Lynch's relevance to today's child reader. Is she merely a part of old Ireland, with O'Leary in the grave, reminiscent, as Dunbar says, of John Hinde postcards from the 1940s and '50s? I would contend that it is simply a matter of moving her backwards, to younger children who have not yet been entirely seduced by technology. As is true for nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and all the great classics of children's literature, Patricia Lynch will never grow out of fashion.