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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

For the @irishtimes.com, I reviewed Dead Centre's quirky new play, Zinc, about the geopolitical oddity of Neutral Moresnet and how powerless individuals get "crossed" by borders. It's a bravura display of plurilingualism that even makes Esperanto sound cool. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

Zinc review: One man’s unusual history becomes a left-field meditation on identity and language

Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel direct a multinational, plurilingual cast in their adaptation of David Van Reybrouck’s book

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A solid week of reviewing the @dublintheatrefest.bsky.social is starting to feel like a very Long Day's Journey. It was nonetheless a pleasure to review @druidtheatre.bsky.social's impeccably acted A Moon for the Misbegotten for The @irishtimes.com last night. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

A Moon for the Misbegotten review: Virtuoso performances power an often sublime Druid production

Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: Eileen Walsh, Lorcan Cranitch and Marty Rea excel under Garry Hynes’ direction

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I reviewed Blindboy's theatrical debut last night at the @abbeytheatre.bsky.social for the @irishtimes.com. It's a show of two halves -- plenty of thoughtful comic jizz before the interval. Animals then turns into a loose (plastic) baggy monster. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

Animals review: Blindboy’s full-scale theatrical debut is a bit of a loose baggy monster

Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: Abbey production has a thoughtful, accomplished first half, but then it loses focus and coherence

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

For the @irishtimes.com, I reviewed Cyclone, ANU's latest dive into Dublin arcana about Billy Warren, an immigrant boxer who became a local character during the first half of the 20c. There are some balletic boxing sequences, but the script lacks muscle. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

Cyclone review: Who was the real Billy Warren? Was he an IRA gunrunner? The picture is still hazy

Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: Anu’s portrait of the boxer has only a patchy historical record to draw on. It might benefit from more dramatic licence

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

For the @irishtimes.com, I reviewed Radio Bette, a quirky adaptation of All About Eve, which opened the @dublintheatrefest.bsky.social last night at the Gaiety. Featuring a standout performance from Chloe Claudel, the play is even more about Eve than the film. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

Radio Bette, minus Ruth Negga, opens Dublin Theatre Festival with deadpan drollery

Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: As Bette Davis in All About Eve, Marcus Amaglo has an air of imperious dignity while also bringing out the ageing star’s vulnerability

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Proust n'a jamais été censuré sous Vichy, ni en URSS. Bien que ses livres aient été brûlés dans l'Allemagne nazie, rien n'indique qu'ils y aient été formellement interdits. Or, dans le monde démocratique, il y a eu une exception à cette tolérance quelque peu surprenante: l'Irlande.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I reviewed Conor McPherson's The Brightening Air at the Gate Theatre for The Irish Times last night. As in his earlier work, there is plenty of engaging offbeat small talk, but the various nods to the supernatural never coalesce into a genuinely haunting spectacle. www.irishtimes.com/culture/stag...

irishtimes.com

The Brightening Air review: Kate Gilmore gives a standout performance in Conor McPherson’s play

The supernatural lurks during a strained family reunion, but never coalesces into a haunting spectacle

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

"For example, we discover how Irish writers such as Beckett, Wilde, Joyce, Mary Devenport O’Neill, Brendan Behan, McGahern and Elizabeth Bowen engaged with and were influenced by Proust’s ideas and techniques, many of which they applied to their own art."

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Eamon Maher has written a splendid essay about The Irish Proust for the Dublin Review of Books: "The Irish Proust is a gem, having unearthed previously unknown links – or crossings, to use the noun employed in the title – between France and Ireland." drb.ie/article/prou...

drb.ie

Proustian Thoughts from Ireland - Dublin Review of Books %

Proustian Thoughts from Ireland - % Dublin Review of Books

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Reposted by Max McGuinness

Dublin Review of Books @dubreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Traces of Proust can be found in McGahern’s 'Memoir', which highlights the unreliability of memory, something that forcibly struck McGahern when he consulted his sisters about certain experiences they remembered differently from him. Eamon Maher on Proust's Irish connections. drb.ie/article/prou...

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

‘Cet ouvrage, remarquablement documenté et agrémenté d’une quinzaine d’illustrations, offre un tour complet des rapports complexes qu’ont entretenus la presse et la littérature à l’époque où celle-ci entrait dans l’ère moderne.’ Pascal Ifri, Nineteenth-Century French Studies

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

'Impressive in the depth of its research, and in its nuanced portrait of the interlocking worlds of novelists, poets, and journalists over the years of the Third Republic.’ Edmund Birch, Romanic Review

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

‘A smart and compelling account of the role of journalism in modernist French literature and its ongoing relevance in the 21st-century digital era.’ Karen Quandt, The French Review

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

‘In this ambitious and accomplished survey, Max McGuinness addresses the tensions embodied within the emerging “civilisation du journal” [...] An incisive work of criticism, exploring a state of affairs that feels particularly relevant in our post-digital world.’ Lisa Hilton, TLS

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I am pleased to announce the publication of the paperback edition of Hustlers in the Ivory: Press and Modernism from Mallarmé to Proust -- currently shortlisted for the @frenchstudies.bsky.social 2025 R. Gapper Prize. Now available from @livunipress.bsky.social at the approachable price of £27.99.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Use the discount code GLR AT8 to get 35% off from @bloomsburyacademic.bsky.social www.bloomsbury.com/uk/irish-pro...

bloomsbury.com

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Praise for The Irish Proust in today's Irish Times: 'The Irish Proust is what Proust would call a “livre de chevet” – a book to keep on a nightstand, to be read slowly and thoughtfully as a strange but enthralling exploration of the unexpected origins of modernism in Ireland.'

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Reposted by Max McGuinness

Liverpool University Press @livunipress.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Shortlisted 🎉| 'Hustlers in the Ivory Tower: Press and Modernism from Mallarmé to Proust' by Max McGuinness has been shortlisted for the R. Gapper Book Prize 2025. Congratulations, Max! Learn more about the book here ⬇️ bit.ly/3TQzWJN

Promotional graphic announcing that 'Hustlers in the Ivory Tower: Press and Modernism from Mallarmé to Proust' by Max McGuinness is a 2025 finalist for the R. Gapper Book Prize.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Praise for The Irish Proust in The Sunday Independent: "Compelling study of the ‘Irishness’ of a French modernist" "A bravura piece of analysis" "The Irish Proust explores these influences with impressive range and intelligence." @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Dan, Beckett editor extraordinaire, offered some generous praise for The Irish Proust: "This book does what few academic collections do for me: it reminds me of why I turned to literature in the first place".

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

With contributions from Ambassador Niall Burgess, Isabelle Serça, Elisabeth Ladenson, Michael Cronin, Dan Gunn, François de Breteuil (descendant of Henri), Pierre-Emmanuel Hurpeau (on the piano), and yours truly.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The Irish Proust had an extremely jolly launch last Thursday at the Hôtel de Breteuil, which has housed the Irish Embassy since the 1950s. It was built by Henri de Breteuil, who inspired one of Proust's characters, Hannibal de Bréauté. @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social @tcddublin.bsky.social

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Bonus feature: The original French versions of two chapters about Beckett and Bowen by Nathalie Mauriac Dyer and Isabelle Serça can be read for free here: www.bloomsburyonlineresources.com/the-irish-pr...

bloomsburyonlineresources.com

The Irish Proust - Home

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Including bold new readings of Proust’s presence within the writings of #SamuelBeckett, #ElizabethBowen, #BrendanBehan, #JohnMcGahern, and #MaryDevenportO'Neill, The Irish Proust sheds new light on the cosmopolitan, modernist literary culture of post-independence Ireland.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Featuring contributions from eleven scholars of French and Irish studies, The Irish Proust reveals a surprising textual dimension of Proust's novel and traces the enduring legacy of his work throughout modern Irish letters.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

This collection of essays is the first book devoted to exploring #MarcelProust’s influence on Irish literature and Irish themes within his work. Use the discount code GLR AT8 to obtain 35% off when purchasing directly from Bloomsbury.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Numerous reports have also indicated that Macron does not really want any of this to succeed. His strategy may well consist of bringing the far right to power, calculating that it will then fail. He may even want the far right to win the next presidential election, allowing him to return in 2032.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

It should be possible to put together a Socialist-led government with support from Macron's party. The fact that Macron has refused to even entertain the idea shows real inflexibility on his part. Conversely, the left could compromise on the pension reform in exchange for the Zucman tax.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"In this ambitious and accomplished survey, McGuinness addresses the tensions embodied within the emerging 'civilisation du journal' [...] An incisive work of criticism, exploring a state of affairs that feels particularly relevant in our post-digital world.' Lisa Hilton, Times Literary Supplement

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"Cet ouvrage, remarquablement documenté et agrémenté d’une quinzaine d’illustrations, offre [...] un tour complet des rapports complexes qu’ont entretenus la presse et la littérature à l’époque où celle-ci entrait dans l’ère moderne." Pascal Ifri, Nineteenth-Century French Studies

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"[A] deeply engaged and nuanced study [of] the relationship of modernist literature to the mainstream press." Edward J. Hughes, French Studies

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Liverpool University Press's summer sale is on till 20 July, which means that my (reassuringly?) expensive book is vastly less expensive! Use the discount code 27SUMMER at checkout to get 50% off Hustlers in the Ivory Tower. @livunipress.bsky.social

liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk

Hustlers in the Ivory Tower: Press and Modernism from Mallarmé to Proust | Home

Ebook available to libraries as part of

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

"[A] deeply engaged and nuanced study [of] the relationship of modernist literature to the mainstream press." Edward J. Hughes, French Studies

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

MON PAUVRE AMI, ALBERTINE N’EST PLUS You can donate to the restoration fund here: souscription.amisdeproust.fr/en/

souscription.amisdeproust.fr

Société des amis de Marcel Proust et des amis de Combray

Shop powered by PrestaShop

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Maya Kulukundis and I recently went in search of the unmarked, dilapidated grave of Proust’s lover Alfred Agostinelli in Nice, and found it after an hour of pacing the cemetery rows. He drowned nearby in the Baie des Anges at the age of 25 after his plane crashed on 30 May 1914.

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Max McGuinness @maxmcguinness.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

I will be speaking this weekend at the Dalkey Book Festival on panels about Dostoevsky (on Saturday, June 14th at 12:30pm) and Proust (on Sunday, June 15th at 3.30pm). We will be doing our best to win the All-Ireland Summarize Proust contest. Tickets available at the links below.

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