Irene Iddesleigh by Amanda McKittrick Ros (1860 - 1939)

Amanda McKittrick Ros, a Northern Irish writer, did for the novel what William McGonagall did for poetry and Florence Foster Jenkins for the coloratura voice. She published a number of novels (all at her own expense) and in addition to being a novelist was a poet, her best known being <em>Visiting Westminster Abbey</em> which begins:<br /><br />Holy Moses!<br />Take a look!<br />Flesh decayed in every nook!<br />Some rare bits of brain lie here,<br />Mortal loads of beef and beer.<br /><br />The best account of her life available on the web is probably <a href="http://oddbooks.co.uk/amanda/life.html" target="_blank">http://oddbooks.co.uk/amanda/life.html</a>. C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and The Inklings were admirers and held competitions to see who could read her work for the longest time whist keeping a straight face. Sadly, all her books are now out of print but command high prices on the rare books market.<br /><br /><em>Irene Iddesleigh</em>, her first book, is a romantic novel, telling the common story of an unhappy, doomed marriage. The prose style however is unique. (Summary by AJM)