Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel
by William Trevor
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Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel by William Trevor - a classic early novel by one of the world's greatest writers The probings of an outsider bring havoc to a crumbling Dublin hotel What was the tragedy that turned O'Neill's hotel from plush establishment into a dingy house of disrepute? Ivy Eckdorf is determined to find out. A professional photographer, she has come to Dublin convinced that a tragic and beautiful tale lies behind the facade of this crumbling hotel. The aging proprietor lies show more dying upstairs while her feckless son is lost in a world of drink and horseracing; and the loyal O'Shea, accompanied everywhere by his greyhound, seeks to keep the hotel on the road. As Mrs Eckdorf worms her way into lives that centre on the hotel, she becomes as much a victim as they are. 'An astounding richness of pathos, humour and tragedy' Francis King William Trevor was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, in 1928, and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He has lived in England for many years. The author of numerous acclaimed collections of short stories and novels, he has won many awards including the Whitbread Book of the Year, The James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence. He has been shortlisted three times for the Booker Prize: in 1976 with his novel The Children of Dynmouth, in 1991 with Reading Turgenev and in 2002 with The Story of Lucy Gault. He recently received the prestigious David Cohen Literature Prize in recognition of a lifetime's literary achievement. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A beautifully written story of the lives of the inhabitants of the title hotel that made the Booker short list in 1970. A professional photographer, Mrs Eckdorf has come to Dublin convinced that a tragic and beautiful tale lies behind the facade of this crumbling hotel. The characters come alive under Trevor's sure hand as he delineates them. None of the characters is much good at talking to one another, but they feel no constraint in writing down their dreams and hopes for Mrs. Sinnott, the 91-year-old deaf mute who is the owner and proprietor. Thus, Mrs. Sinnott acts as a mother confessor for her sherry-soaked son Eugene; for her unloved daughter Enid; for the messianic hall porter, the doubtful prostitute, the small-time pimp and the show more other derelict guests. Like an archeologist describing some extinct civilization, Mr. Trevor sifts through the lives of these transients with objective relish creating a world of secrets and piques the reader's interest with Mrs. Eckdorf's own mystery. show less
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Booker Prize Shortlist: Titles Read
103 works; 10 members
Booker Prize
491 works; 62 members
Man Booker Prize Longlist 1970
6 works; 1 member
Author Information
120+ Works 13,475 Members
William Trevor Cox was born in Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ireland on May 24, 1928. He received a degree in history from Trinity College in 1950. Before becoming a full-time author in 1965, he worked as a sculptor, a teacher, and a copywriter at an advertising agency. He exhibited his sculptures in Dublin and England and was joint winner of the show more International Year of the Political Prisoner art competition in 1952. His first novel, A Standard of Behaviour, was published in 1958. His other novels include Other People's Worlds, Nights at the Alexandra, The Silence in the Garden, The Story of Lucy Gault, My House in Umbria, and Love and Summer. He won the Hawthornden Prize in 1964 for The Old Boys, the Whitbread Award in 1976 for The Children of Dynmouth, the Whitbread Award in 1983 for Fools of Fortune, and the Whitbread Award in 1994 for Felicia's Journey. His short story collections include The Day We Got Drunk on Cake and Other Stories, The Ballroom of Romance and Other Stories, Beyond the Pale, A Bit on the Side, Cheating at Canasta, and The Mark-2 Wife. The Hill Bachelors received the 2001 Irish Times Irish Literature Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award for Short Stories. He received the Allied Irish Banks' Prize in 1976, The Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in 1992, the David Cohen British Literature Prize in 1999, and the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in Irish Literature in 2008. In 1977, he was awarded an honorary CBE in recognition of his services to literature. He died on November 20, 2016 at the age of 88. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel
- Original publication date
- 1969
- Dedication
- For Jane
- First words
- "I'm Ivy Eckdorf," said Mrs. Eckdorf as the aeroplane rose from the ground.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)For her at least there was a happy ending.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 177
- Popularity
- 184,867
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.70)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 6
