The Unfortunate Fursey AND The Return of Fursey

The Unfortunate Fursey

Introduction by Michael Dirda
Cover image by Jesse Campbell-Brown

"In Ireland anything may happen to anyone anywhere and at any time, and it usually does." - Abbot Marcus

The forces of evil have launched a determined offensive on the sanctified precincts of Clonmacnoise, and gain a bridgehead in the cell of Brother Fursey. But the hapless monk is so tongue-tied with fright that he cannot utter the necessary words of exorcism. When the other monks discover this, poor Fursey is expelled, and sets forth on the first stage of his travels accompanied by a fantastic procession of cacodemons, hippogriffs, imps, furies, and other dreadful creatures, not to mention the elegant gentleman in black who is their commander-in-chief.

The Return of Fursey

Introduction by Michael Dirda
Cover image by Jesse Campbell-Brown

"In Ireland anything may happen to anyone anywhere and at any time, and it usually does." - Abbot Marcus

This story, set in medieval Ireland, is centred around Brother Fursey, that lovable, naïve character, who started life in Clonmacnoise, the famous monastery, and was then forced to lead a layman’s life among countrymen absorbed or terrified by witchcraft and demonology. Sorcery was widely practised, and when in the Dark Ages something happened which could not be at once explained, a man glanced around and began to wonder anxiously whether there were sorcerers and demons in the neighbourhood—almost invariably there were; razor-fanged demons skipping from hedge to hedge, to say nothing of lonely vampires with a weakness for adventure. With such characters as Albert, Fursey’s unhelpful “familiar”, and Cuthbert, the sorcerer, readers will delight in new spirits such as George the Vampire, Sigurd the Skull Splitter, the Viking Captain, and the wealthy Festus Wisenuts.

Details may vary slightly at time of publication

Dustjacketed hardcovers