A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Carleton, William

by John William Cousin

Carleton, William (1794-1869).—Novelist, s. of a poor Irish cottar, b. and brought up among the Irish peasantry, acquired an insight into their ideas and feelings which has never been equalled. His finest work is in his short stories, collected under the title of Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, of which two series were pub. in 1830 and 1832 respectively. He also wrote several longer novels, of which the best is Fardorougha the Miser (1837), a work of great power. Others are The Misfortunes of Barny Branagan (1841), Valentine M'Clutchy (1845), Rody the Rover (1847), The Squanders of Castle Squander (1854), and The Evil Eye. C. received a pension of £200 from Government.