BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

The Dark: A Critical Edition
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark: A Critical Edition Paperback - 2025

by John McGahern; Anna Teekell (Editor); Ellen Scheible (Editor)

Add to wish list

Reader reviews for The Dark: A Critical Edition

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

Bringing John McGahern's 1965 masterpiece back into print in the United States after years of inaccessibility, this new sixtieth-anniversary critical edition includes an introduction aimed at first-time readers, explanatory footnotes, McGahern's own glossary, and four scholarly essays aimed at guiding readers through the novel's famously controversial history. While the text was initially banned in Ireland for obscenity, this edition demonstrates that McGahern's novel of adolescence is not obscene, but revelatory, exposing the corruption underlying authority structures in mid-century Ireland--from the family to the church, to the government's willingness to ignore national and communal trauma. The Dark follows a promising young boy's struggles to break free from the economic and social forces trapping him in a lifestyle that is both familiar and suffocating. At the heart of the novel is the boy's complex and stormy relationship with his abusive, widowed father, who is left to raise a family with little outside aid. The Dark is a story of alarming brutality, surprising tenderness, and poetic lyricism; a reflection of Irish society that maintains historical significance as contemporary Ireland continues to build its national identity.

Details

  • Title The Dark: A Critical Edition
  • Author John McGahern; Anna Teekell (Editor); Ellen Scheible (Editor)
  • Binding Paperback
  • Pages 278
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Syracuse University Press
  • Publication date 2025-05-15
  • Features Bibliography, Glossary
  • ISBN 9780815638612 / 0815638612
  • Weight 0.9 lbs (0.41 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 in (22.61 x 14.48 x 2.03 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: British
    • Topical: Coming of Age
  • Category Fiction - General
  • Library of Congress subjects Fathers and sons, Ireland
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2024050378
  • Dewey Decimal Code 823.914

About the author

Anna Teekell is associate professor of English at Christopher Newport University.

Ellen Scheible is professor of English and director of the honors program at Bridgewater State University.

Back to top↑

More Copies for Sale

The Dark: A Critical Edition
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark: A Critical Edition

by McGahern, John

  • New
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
1
Seller
Canada BetterBookDeals
Item price
A$46.09
A$36.12 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
NEW.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$46.09
A$36.12 Delivery to USA
The Dark: A Critical Edition

The Dark: A Critical Edition

by John McGahern

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
3
Seller
The Saint Bookstore
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$62.41
A$19.36 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Paperback / softback. New.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$62.41
A$19.36 Delivery to USA
The Dark
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark

by McGahern, John,

  • Used
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
5
Seller
GreatBookPrices
Item price
A$60.11
A$5.77 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
like new.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$60.11
A$5.77 Delivery to USA
The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)

by McGahern, John

  • Used
Condition
New
Edition
0
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
1
Seller
Academic Book Solutions Inc.
Item price
A$60.12
A$5.77 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Syracuse University Press, 2025-05-14. Used - Like New. Used Like New, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$60.12
A$5.77 Delivery to USA
The Dark – A Critical Edition
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark – A Critical Edition

by McGahern, John/ Teekell, Anna (Editor)/ Scheible, Ellen (Editor)/ Shovlin, Frank (Contributor)/ Houlihan, Barry (Contributor)

  • New
  • Paperback
Condition
New
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
2
Seller
Revaluation Books
Item price
A$84.15
A$29.18 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Syracuse Univ Pr, 2025. Paperback. New. critical edition. 274 pages. 9.00x6.00x0.68 inches.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$84.15
A$29.18 Delivery to USA
The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)

by McGahern, John

  • New
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
6
Seller
Russell Books Ltd
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
A$68.18
A$28.89 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Syracuse University Press. New. Special order direct from the distributor
Add to wish list
Item price
A$68.18
A$28.89 Delivery to USA
The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark: A Critical Edition (Irish Studies)

by McGahern, John

  • Used
  • Good
  • Paperback
Condition
Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
1
Seller
Bonita
Item price
A$73.04
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
paperback. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$73.04
Free Delivery to USA
The Dark
Stock photo: cover may vary

The Dark

by McGahern, John,

  • New
Condition
New
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780815638612 / 0815638612
Quantity available
5
Seller
GreatBookPrices
Item price
A$76.42
A$5.77 Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
new.
Add to wish list
Item price
A$76.42
A$5.77 Delivery to USA
Show all copies
Back to top↑

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.