A Star Called Henry

Born in the slums of Dublin in 1901, with his father as a one-legged whore-house bouncer and settler of scores, Henry Smart has to grow up fast.

By the time he can walk, he's out robbing, begging, often cold, always hungry, but a prince of the streets.

At fourteen, already six foot two, Henry's in the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army, fighting for freedom.

A year later, he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian and soon, a killer.

With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a republican legend - one of Michael Collins' boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike.

An historical novel like none before it, "A Star Called Henry" marks a new chapter in Roddy Doyle's writing.

It is a vastly more ambitious book than any he has written before.

Taking a subversive look behind the legends of Irish republicanism, with a passionate love story at its centre, this is a triumphant work of fiction.