Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a framework for a comprehensive reappraisal of Francis Sylvester Mahony's work. It analyzes the nature and extent of Mahony's idiosyncratic literary achievement as Father Prout. The book provides an integrated view of the "variety and many-sidedness of Father Prout," challenging the perception of a fragmentary periodical aesthetic by arguing that the "Prout Papers" represent a sustained, translation-based critique of literary tradition. The Mahonys claimed descent from an old Kerry family of Dromore Castle, and they had long been prominent among the Catholic merchant classes of Cork City. In 1819, Mahony opted to continue his education with the Society of Jesus at the college of St. Acheul, Amiens, in Northern France.