I had decidedly mixed opinions on this book. The illustrations by the author are top-notch and quite beautiful. When the author sticks to history and natural history, the book is fine. But there's large chunks of the book that read as if it's populated by that dreaded figure, The Stage Irishman, and it can be off-putting at times. If you can't abide that sort of Twee Celticism, do NOT get this book. ( )

301. Lovely is the Lea, by Robert Gibbings (read 18 Dec 1946) When I finished this book I said: "Not bad. but no continuity so I found it dull." ( )

Ah well now, … this one, my third, was a wee bit disappointing. Robert had lulled me into believing I was about to settle down with one of his quiet and charming river books. Instead we get a wild, roaring romp around County Cork which it seems is crowded with rumbustious drunks, ghosts and the "fairies", the little people.

He certainly proves that he, along with everybody else he meets on his return home, was ”inoculated with gramophone needles” – sure, and a bit like m’self – or had snogged with the Blarney Stone. The reader is treated to histories and tales, supported with Gibbings’ usual glorious woodcuts as he wanders, tramps, and hurries around his home region. The Lee itself (in Cork) makes no appearance for thirty chapters and he barely gets his feet wet before he is again among the ghosts and changelings.

It is still a charmer of a book of course, certainly proving that whilst you cannot get the “Oirish” out of this author if you prefer his river books, you do need to get the author out of Ireland and back on the Thames or the Seine.

A wonderful tale of Robert's exploration of the river in a traditional Irish boat, illustrated by him with his woodblock prints ( )