The sales of books by writer John McGahern have increased significantly since his death, it emerged today.
Author John McGahern: sales have soared since his death
His recently published Memoirhas shot back to number one in the Irish hardback non-fiction chart and bookstores have also received extra orders for his earlier books like The Darkand Amongst Women.
Easons book buyer Maria Dickinson said that the public response to his death had been unprecedented.
"I think a lot of people almost want to pay him the tribute of reading his books. Memoirhas gone straight back to number one and we've had a lot of queries for The Dark," she said.
The author's publishers, Faber and Faber, have delivered around 10,000 copies of Memoirin the last two weeks to cope with the demand.
Ms Dickinson said that although interest in authors' works often increased after their deaths, the sales of John McGahern's books were far greater than expected.
Hughes and Hughes book buyer Colm Ennis said it had also experienced a significant increase in demand for all of McGahern's books. "The publishers are doing their best to get stocks back into the country."
McGahern (71), died of cancer in the Mater Hospital in Dublin on March 30th. At his funeral in County Leitrim, he was widely praised as one of Ireland's greatest ever novelists for his evocative depictions of rural life.
His 1965 book The Darkwas famously banned by the Censorship Board for its references to masturbation and clerical sexual abuse. It also led to him losing his job as a teacher and he emigrated, spending time in London, Paris, Finland and the United States.