Summary of Silver’s City
“Silver’s City” is a classic Northern Irish crime novel, set in late-1970s Belfast, at the height of the Troubles. Silver Steele is a local hero of the Protestant cause – reputedly the man who fired the first shot of the conflict – and has been imprisoned for many years. But his belief has faded, and his loyalty is now under suspicion from his own side. When he escapes – or is possibly kidnapped – he finds himself in a Belfast he no longer recognises, being hunted down by a fellow Loyalist hitman, Ned Galloway.
Reasons to read Silver’s City
“Silver’s City”, often described an “Ulster noir” novel (crime fiction from Northern Ireland), portrays the dark and brutal reality of the Troubles, focusing on infighting among Loyalist paramilitary fighters turned gangsters. This powerful and compelling novella won the Whitbread Book Award for Novel of the Year in 1981. Maurice Leitch, a writer from Northern Ireland, had earlier won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1969 for his novel “Poor Lazarus”.
Setting: Belfast (Northern Ireland, UK)
Original title: Silver’s City
Year of publication: 1981
Nr of pages: 192
