Since Irish writers first began to write in English, their presence on the stage of world literature has been remarkable, culminating in the Nobel Prizes awarded to Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney. This pocket history traces the long list of Irish dramatists, poets, novelists and short-story writers from Swift to the end of the 20th century. The book incorporates writers such as Synge, O'Casey, Beckett, Friel, Edgeworth, Joyce, Bowen, O'Brien, O'Faolain, Doyle, Yeats and Durcan. The leading figures, and some of those who are less well-known, are placed in context, their works are listed, and commentary provides brief insights into their lives and work.