Persse McGarrigle

With a pale, round, freckled face and mop of red curly hair, the novel's protagonist has a surname to live up to. It means "Son of Super-valor" in Irish. Persse has earned his bachelor's degree at Galway College and his master's at Dublin College, but he does most of his work independently while recovering from tuberculosis. He obtains his position in the three-man English Department at University College, Limerick, on a fluke when the invitation to another McGarrigle is mailed to Persse. It seems less trouble to hire him than correct the mistake. Persse handles the Modern English period. We first meet Persse in Rummidge, at his first-ever professional conference. There he meets several prominent scholars, learns that conferences are working vacations and falls in love with beautiful but elusive Angelica Pabst. When she the conference without a word, Persse begins a quixotic quest. In Rummidge, Persse...