Up in the Hills

When the newly liberated (and fictitious) African country of Liberissima sends three “archeologists” to dig up prehistoric remains in an Irish bog, the inhabitants of the local village of Cranogue take umbrage at the unsettling of their ancient bones. Elder women curse the newcomers while the young men take to the hills to form armies and conduct a “war” of youthful high jinks—not with the visitors, but with each other.

Set in 1922, Lord Dunsany’s Ireland is a land of nascent political responsibility. Independence from England has brought freedom from foreign oppression, but may in turn require the imposition of a severe local authority. Here’s our young hero’s creed:

“What are your politics?” she asked...
“Just against the government,” answered Mickey.
“Which government?” asked Alannah, for the English had only been gone a year.
“Any government,” said Mickey. “Sure what’s the use of them? No man can be free when there’s a government over him.”

But how long and at what cost can Mickey hold out against any government while he’s up in the hills?

Lord Dunsany (1878–1957), a versatile writer of fantasy, drama, science fiction, and autobiography, focused much of his considerable talent on his native land of Ireland. Though he employed many literary forms, the theme he returned to was our need to feel at one with the natural world. Dunsany’s writing influenced the works of J.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and H.P. Lovecraft.