Telling a true Irish crime tale amid rural superstition
FICTION
In her latest book, Hannah Kent places her audience directly within the lives of those who inhabited the superstitious world of 19th century rural Ireland.
“The Good People” is based on true events: a trial Kent saw in a British newspaper that centred around a young boy abused by a woman who insisted she was simply trying to banish a changeling.
This is not the first time Kent has woven a tale around a historical crime case — her multiple awardwinning debut novel “Burial Rites” follows a woman condemned to death for murdering two men in Iceland in 1829. It was during this research that the Australia-based writer found the case that forms the foundation of this next novel — she later spent time in Ireland.
Nora Leahy has lost her daughter to illness in the past year and now her husband is found dead at the crossroads near his work site. She is left alone to care for her grandson Micheal.
After months of hiding the child, news of his existence spreads through the village. They say he is a changeling; that the “real” Micheal was taken away and a fairy left in his place. Nora eventually believes it herself, and no longer thinks of Micheal as her grandson at all.
Nora and her new housekeeper, Mary, take Micheal to Nance Roche who knows how to help — it’s rumoured she has been touched by the Good People — the fairies that took Micheal. Together, the three women work to banish the changeling at all costs, including administering abusive treatments to the child for days on end.
From the start, Kent describes the daily life of the small village with careful detail, allowing the reader to imagine it perfectly. In both of her novels, Kent gives voice to the characters inner thoughts — people who in the real life version were only ever misunderstood. She shows the nuances of their beliefs and what could have been behind their immoral actions. Had Kent spent more time on building the characters rather than describing the many dark events of the village, the audience would have been given a chance to understand the inner workings at a deeper level.
After the trial that marks the last section of the novel, it becomes clear that Nora and Nance will never stop believing. When Nora’s niece asks her of Nance’s true actions at the end of the book, “She did it, didn’t she?” Nora can only reply: “Twas fairy.”
Blair Mlotek is freelance writer based in Toronto and the Arts & Ideas editor of This Magazine. Special to the Spectator