"In this book, James M. Cahalan examines gender issues in the writings and in the lives of a dozen notable Irish authors and their fictional characters."--BOOK JACKET. "Covering literature from the late nineteenth century to the present, be seeks to close the gender gap in Irish literary history by pairing similar works of fiction by both men and women. The author addresses, for instance, how women writers' characterizations of men compare with men's representations of women."--BOOK JACKET.