Colm Toibin published his first book in 1985 and in the three decades since has been a central voice within popular Irish cultural and intellectual discourse. Toibin is one of the most widely-read and critically respected of Irish contemporary novelists, both in Europe and in North America, and his fictions have justly earned him an international reputation and an ever-growing popularity. His use of many literary forms; the newspaper essay, the travel book, the historical study, reviews, broadcasts, best-selling novels and short stories all attest to his crucial influence on Irish public discourse and Irish identity. Eibhear Walshe presents here the only complete study of Toibin's writing life to date, drawing on the newly-opened Colm Toibin literary archive