Mary O’Donnell writes with immense vivacity and skill. I love her work. Empire is a collection I found hard to put down once started, a book that draws the reader, with great grace and cleverness, into the shimmer of its power. – Joseph O’Connor
Mary O’Donnell has long been one of Ireland’s best writers. In the historical fictions in Empire she once again dazzles with her trademark intelligence, her precise, gorgeous prose and the empathy she employs in everything she writes. The novella and stories here are shot through with energy and attention, from the exoticism of early twentieth century Burma to an Ireland in flux. Another fine book from a masterful writer. – Nuala O’Connor, author of Becoming Belle
In Empire, these interconnected stories are filled with an effortlessly poetic confidence, bringing the reader back to an earlier Ireland with humour, insight, unexpected moments of revelation and clear contemporary resonances. – Eibhear Walshe