Liam O'Flaherty was born in 1896 on Inishmore, the largest and northernmost of the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. O'Flaherty's writing was deeply influenced by his environment; the Aran islands, with their thin soil, are barren and wild, and subject to the whims of sea and weather. O'Flaherty's writing, often violent, looks at humankind's connection to nature, but not in a sentimental fashion. In many of his stories, he shows how people lose their affinity with nature—and to a deeper life—when they turn their backs on it and live in cities, but he also demonstrates how brutish and short life can be for those who live close to the land.

In 1908, a priest visited Inishmore looking for candidates for the junior seminary at Rockwell, and Liam's teachers recommended him enthusiastically. At Rockwell, he excelled in the classics and modern languages...