The Secret Scripture

The Secret Scripture

First edition cover
Author Sebastian Barry
Country Ireland
Language English
Genre Novel
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
 September 29, 2008
Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages 312 pp (Paperback)
ISBN 978-0-571-21529-4
OCLC 300404404
Preceded by A Long Long Way
Followed by On Canaan's Side

The Secret Scripture is a 2008 novel written by Irish writer Sebastian Barry.

Plot summary

The main character is a one-hundred-year-old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to write an autobiography. She calls it "Roseanne's testimony of herself" and charts her life and that of her parents, living in Sligo at the turn of the 20th Century. She keeps her story hidden under the loose floorboard in her room, unsure as yet if she wants it to be found. The second narrative is the "commonplace book" of the current chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr Grene. The hospital now faces imminent demolition. He must decide who of his patients are to be transferred, and who must be released into the community. He is particularly concerned about Roseanne, and begins tentatively to attempt to discover her history. It soon becomes apparent that both Roseanne and Dr Grene have differing stories as to her incarceration and her early life, but what is consistent in both narratives is that Roseanne fell victim to the religious and political upheavals in Ireland in the 1920s – 1930s.

Inspiration

The novel was inspired by a story told to him by his mother of an old relative – "We were driving through Sligo, and my mother pointed out a hut and told me that was where my great uncle's first wife had lived before being put into a lunatic asylum by the family. She knew nothing more, except that she was beautiful.[1] I once heard my grandfather say that she was no good. That's what survives and the rumours of her beauty. She was nameless, fateless, unknown. I felt I was almost duty-bound as a novelist to reclaim her and, indeed, remake her." [2] The story also ties in with previous novels by Barry, especially The Whereabouts of Eneas Mcnulty, the title character being a brother in law to Roseanne McNulty.

Awards

It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, one of the most prestigious English literature prizes and the oldest prize in the United Kingdom.

The novel won the Book of the Year at the 2008 Costa Awards,.[3] This was despite the misgivings of the jury, one of whom, Matthew Parris said "They agreed that it was flawed, and almost no one liked the ending, which was almost fatal to its success"[1]

At the Irish Book Awards, it won "Novel of the Year" and the Choice Award.[4]

It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction,[5] narrowly losing to The White Tiger [6]

Book at Bedtime adaptation

In May 2008, the novel was adapted and abridged by Neville Teller for BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime with Doreen Keogh and Alex Jennings voicing the roles of Roseanne and Dr. Grene, respectively.[7]

Film adaptation

A film version also titled The Secret Scripture, directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave, is in post-production.[8] Filming began in January 2015 in Dublin with scenes shot in Dollymount Strand and Portrane Beach.[9] In February, filming moved to Inistioge, Co. Kilkenny.[10] Filming completed on March 6.[11] Other stars include Eric Bana and Theo James[12] as well as Irish natives Jack Reynor, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and Aidan Turner.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 Jeffries, Stuart (January 29, 2009). "Interview: Sebastian Barry reveals the secrets of his Costa prize win". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  2. ↑ O'Hagan, Sean (April 27, 2008). "Ireland's past is another country". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Sebastian Barry wins 2008 Costa Book of the Year". Costa Book Awards. January 27, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year". Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  5. ↑ Archived January 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ "News | The Man Booker Prizes". Themanbookerprize.com. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  7. ↑ Archived August 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "'The Secret Scripture', Starring Jessica Chastain and Vanessa Redgrave, to Film in Ireland in June 2014 | The Irish Film & Television Network". Iftn.ie. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  9. ↑ "Check out the freaky 'baby' Rooney Mara uses in The Secret Scripture! | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  10. ↑ "Inistioge - Events". Inistioge.ie. 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  11. 1 2 "Jim Sheridan's The Secret Scripture begins shooting in Ireland | The Irish Film & Television Network". Iftn.ie. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
  12. ↑ "Theo James - Page". Interview Magazine. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2015-10-10.
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