Julia O'Faolain is one of the most important Irish writers of the past half-century. Under the Rose is a selection of short stories taken from her many celebrated collections.These are stories about families and relationships, religion and politics, new life and mortality, and their settings range from Ireland and the USA to Italy and France. O'Faolain exposes the delusions of sexual desire, explores the failings of the Church and unpicks the casual brutalities of a patriarchal society. In an afterword, she considers the art of the short story and the influences that continue to shape her work.Powerful, profound and unflinching in their reflections on human experience, the stories in Under the Rose are masterpieces of the form.Praise for Julia O'Faolain:'The assurance, range and diversity of her stories . . . proclaim a writer of daunting gifts.' Guardian'Entertaining and rich in comedy . . . gripping and moving.' William Trevor'A wonderful stylist and an exciting writer . . . Her work is joyous, urbane and intensely Irish.' Independent on Sunday

Julia O'Faolain was born in London in 1932. Her novel No Country for Young Men was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She was brought up in Cork and Dublin, educated in Paris and Rome and married an American historian in Florence. She lived for many years in the US, and now lives in London.