The Secret Scripture Sebastian Barry

The Secret Scripture is a 2008 novel written by Irish writer Sebastian Barry.

The main character is an old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fifty years or more, Roseanne decides to write an autobiography. She calls it "Roseanne's testimony of herself" and charts her life and that of her parents, living in Sligo at the turn of the 20th century. She keeps her story hidden under the loose floorboard in her room, unsure as yet if she wants it to be found. The second narrative is the "commonplace book" of the current chief Psychiatrist of the hospital, Dr Grene. The hospital now faces imminent demolition. He must decide who of his patients are to be transferred, and who must be released into the community. He is particularly concerned about Roseanne, and begins tentatively to attempt to discover her history. It soon becomes apparent that both Roseanne and Dr Grene have differing stories as to her incarceration and her early life, but what is consistent in both narratives is that Roseanne fell victim to the religious and political upheavals in Ireland in the 1920s – 1930s.

The novel was inspired by a story told to him by his mother of an old relative:

We were driving through Sligo, and my mother pointed out a hut and told me that was where my great uncle's first wife had lived before being put into a lunatic asylum by the family. She knew nothing more, except that she was beautiful.[1] I once heard my grandfather say that she was no good. That's what survives and the rumours of her beauty. She was nameless, fateless, unknown. I felt I was almost duty-bound as a novelist to reclaim her and, indeed, remake her.[2]

The story also ties in with previous novels by Barry, especially The Whereabouts of Eneas Mcnulty, the title character being a brother in law to Roseanne McNulty.

On The Omnivore, a British aggregator of press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4 out of 5.[3] On Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on 10 critic reviews: 4 "rave" and 5 "positive" and 1 "mixed".[4] In Bookmarks May/June 2009 issue, a magazine that aggregates critic reviews of books, the book received a (4.00 out of 5) with the summary stating, "Again and again the critics cited Barry’s lovely, musical language as one of the greatest treasures of The Secret Scripture".[5]

It won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, one of the most prestigious English literature prizes and the oldest prize in the United Kingdom.

The novel won the Book of the Year at the 2008 Costa Book Awards.[6] This was despite the misgivings of the jury, one of whom, Matthew Parris, said "They agreed that it was flawed, and almost no one liked the ending, which was almost fatal to its success."[1]

At the Irish Book Awards, it won "Novel of the Year" and the Choice Award.[7]

It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction,[8] narrowly losing to The White Tiger.[9]

In May 2008, the novel was adapted and abridged by Neville Teller for BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime with Doreen Keogh and Alex Jennings voicing the roles of Roseanne and Dr. Grene, respectively.[10]

A film version, also titled The Secret Scripture, was directed by Jim Sheridan and stars Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave.[11] Filming began in January 2015. In February, filming moved to Inistioge, County Kilkenny.[12] Filming completed on 6 March.[13] Other stars include Eric Bana and Theo James[14] as well as Irish natives Jack Reynor, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, and Aidan Turner.[13]

1. ^ a b Jeffries, Stuart (29 January 2009). "Interview: Sebastian Barry reveals the secrets of his Costa prize win". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
2. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (27 April 2008). "Ireland's past is another country". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
3. ^ "The Secret Scripture". The Omnivore. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
4. ^ "The Secret Scripture". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
5. ^ "The Secret Scripture By Sebastian Barry". Bookmarks Magazine. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
6. ^ "Sebastian Barry wins 2008 Costa Book of the Year". Costa Book Awards. January 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved April 25, 2009.
7. ^ "Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year". Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
8. ^ [1] Archived 5 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
9. ^ "News | The Man Booker Prizes". Themanbookerprize.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
10. ^ "The Secret Scripture EPISODE: 2". locatetv.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
11. ^ "'The Secret Scripture', Starring Jessica Chastain and Vanessa Redgrave, to Film in Ireland in June 2014 | The Irish Film & Television Network". Iftn.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
12. ^ "Inistioge - Events". Inistioge.ie. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
13. ^ a b "Jim Sheridan's The Secret Scripture begins shooting in Ireland | The Irish Film & Television Network". Iftn.ie. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
14. ^ "Theo James - Page". Interview Magazine. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.

• Review: The Secret Scripture by Barry Sebastian – TimesOnline
• Review: The Secret Scripture – The New York Times
• Review: Sebastian Barry: The Secret Scripture – Salon.com
• Review: The Secret Scripture – Guardian.co.uk