Books, Arts & Manners: The Weather in Ireland

Up in the Park: The Diary of the Wife of an American Ambassador to Ireland, 1977-1981, by Elizabeth Shannon Atheneum, 358 p., $17.95 If there is a literature of diplomats’ wives I am not familiar with it; but if it could maintain the quality of this report—with its vivid detail, its wit, its sensitivity, and its empathic feeling for Ireland and its people, all presented in lively literary style—there should be.

When William V. Shannon, a political columnist for the New York Times, was named ambassador to Ireland by President Carter, his wife, Elizabeth Shannon, vowed, “I will play my role with energy and try to leave my mark. I will not leave Ireland known merely as the Ambassador’s wife.” With this book she has accomplished her aim.

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Herbert A. Kenny

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Up in the Park: The Diary of the Wife of an American Ambassador to Ireland, 1977-1981, by Elizabeth Shannon Atheneum, 358 p., $17.95 If there is a literature of diplomats’ wives I am not familiar with it; but if it could maintain the quality of this report—with its vivid detail, its wit, its sensitivity, and its empathic feeling for Ireland and its people, all presented in lively literary style—there should be.

When William V. Shannon, a political columnist for the New York Times, was named ambassador to Ireland by President Carter, his wife, Elizabeth Shannon, vowed, “I will play my role with energy and try to leave my mark. I will not leave Ireland known merely as the Ambassador’s wife.” With this book she has accomplished her aim.