Gossamer

James Owen Hannay, the Irish clergyman who wrote under the pseudonym "George A. Birmingham", began his literary career with a novel that addressed sensitive political matters in a serious manner. After that approach landed him in hot water in his native Ireland, Hannay adopted a new approach: he continued to talk about important issues, but in a humorous, lighthearted way. In Gossamer, Hannay mercilessly skewers the flimflammery of international finance in a satirical send-up that The New York Times' critic described as "brilliantly entertaining".