ABOUT THE BOOK

Born in the slums of Dublin in 1901, his father a one-legged whorehouse bouncer and settler of scores. Henry Smart has to grow up fast. By the time he can walk he's out robbing, begging, often cold, always hungry, but a prince of the streets.

At fourteen, already six foot two, Henry's in the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army, fighting for freedom. A year later he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and soon, a killer. With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a republican legend - one of Michael Collin's boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike.

An historical novel like none before it, A Star Called Henry marks a new chapter in Roddy Doyle's writing. It is a vastly more ambitious book than any he has written before. A subversive look behind the legends of Irish Republicanism, at its centre a passionate love story, this is a triumphant work of fiction.

Roddy Doyle was born in Dublin in 1958. He is the author of five previous novels, The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and The Woman Who Walked Into Doors. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.