Crock of Gold

James Stephens (1880-1950) was a novelist, poet and broadcaster whose two most famous novels were published in 1912. The Charwoman’s Daughter is a lovely story about a young girl growing up in the Dublin slums, and The Crock of Gold an intriguing fantasy involving fairies, policemen, philosophers and pagan gods. It was through the first, which I taught Leaving Cert students many years ago, that I came to the second.