Inventing the Myth: Political Passions and the Ulster Protestant Imagination

This book is a clearly-written, lively, and timely work exploring the history and politics of a whole group: Ulster Protestants. Until recently this population has been dismissed as reactionary, conservative, and prone to violence. This book uncovers instead diverse, though still conflicted, communities through its focus on ten writers whose work has reflected voices we might not otherwise have heard, or who are not always represented in parliaments and official reports. The writers discussed have challenged as well as reflected their community, and have interacted with significant political players and history as it moves. Readers will be attracted by the insights of over sixty interviewees - some well-known political and cultural names, from former cabinet Ministers to actors and writers - and the trove of unpublished material.