Book excerpt: This book presents Irish women - known and unknown, real and invented - as their compatriots have described and interpreted them. They range from figures in history to the hairdresser, terrorist's wife and nurse. The editors draw upon mythological tales, letters, biographies, autobiographies, newspapers and official reports as well as poems, novels, stories, plays, recordings and songs to form this sympathetic selection that conveys fresh insights into the varied and vital experience of Irish women.