I don't usually read non-fiction (unless it is biography) but a friend recently gave me this book and it looked intriguing. In March 1895, in County Tipperary, Ireland, a sick wife, Bridget Cleary, was burned to death by her husband, aunt and four cousins, who then buried her body in a makeshift grave. This book, written by Angela Bourke, an expert in Irish oral tradition, details what probably caused those close to her to suspect that Bridget Cleary was a changeling and also what happened to her husband, Michael, in the aftermath of her burning.

According to Michael Cleary and the other relatives responsible for Bridget's death, Bridget Cleary became ill with bronchitis and was then abducted by fairies who left behind only a changeling. This came after Michael Cleary had sought genuine medical help for his wife, then, convinced that Bridget had "gone with the fairies," conspired with a fairy doctor instead.

Bridget Cleary, at 26, was definitely not the average 19th century peasant wife. She was more independent that most women of her time, both in her outlook and in her finances (she was a successful dressmaker), she was more educated, she was quite attractive and she spoke her mind. But probably most damning, at least in Bridget's day, was the fact that although she had been married for eight years, she was childless.

To put it all in a nutshell, Bourke, who originally began this book as a part of her doctoral dissertation, believes that Bridget was simply too "strong-willed" to fit in with 19th century Tipperary society. The local traditions condoned the burning of witches and fairies and so, what better way to "control" Bridget than to burn her? Just get her out of the way.

I can buy the reasoning above. Small, patriarchal, clannish villages were certainly not above taking matters into their own hands, and fairy lore has always been part and parcel of Irish history, but Bourke lost my vote of confidence when she went on to suggest that Bridget Cleary had had an affair with her neighbor, Michael Simpson. While there is evidence to suggest that Bridget Cleary would have been intelligent enough and talented enough and independent enough and out-spoken enough to pose a threat to her small community, there is absolutely no evidence (at least none presented by Bourke) to suggest that Cleary had an affair with Simpson. (Bourke suggests that Bridget found Simpson "more attractive" than her own husband. I contend that a woman as intelligent as Bridget Cleary apparently was, would not have committed adultery on such shallow grounds.) What the "Simpson affair" does do, however, is absolve Michael Cleary of much of the blame for Bridget's death.

Whether Bridget Cleary had an affair of not, Bourke comes to the conclusion that Michael Cleary felt completely justified in the burning of his wife. The British, however, were not convinced and neither am I. By all accounts, Bridget was tortured and Bourke's recounting of this torture provide some of the most vivid writing in what is essentially a very dry and prosaic book. Michael Cleary, by the way, was found guilty of murder and received a 20-year sentence.

As long as Bourke remains focused on Bridget Cleary, this book is rather compelling reading. It is when she veers off and begins to talk about Anglo-Irish politics, home rule and the Marquess of Queensberry that she become quite tedious. A PhD dissertation is one thing; a compelling book of non-fiction is another. I think Bourke made the mistake of attempting to combine the two and it simply didn't make for a very good combination.

The Cleary case was a widely-publicized one and Bourke gives in to the rather fanciful idea that it even helped to defeat home rule for Ireland. After all, writes Bourke, a population as given to superstition and folklore as the Irish could certainly not be allowed to govern itself. To bolster her argument, Bourke notes that the libel suit against the Marquess of Queensberry (who had accused Oscar Wilde of homosexuality), was going on in London at the same time as Michael Cleary was being accused of murder in County Tipperary. The Irish, Bourke points out, were seen, in the light of these two cases, as superstitious savages who were homosexual as well. I can't buy this argument for the defeat of home rule just as I can't buy the argument that Bridget Cleary had had an affair with Michael Simpson. Both "reasons" are too "pat," too convenient. And Bourke simply doesn't explore the other side of the coin. I have no doubt that Bourke attempted to be precise and factual, however. "The Burning of Bridget Cleary" includes 25 pages of notes taken from court transcripts, newspaper accounts and prison records.

This book is titled, "The Burning of Bridget Cleary," and Bridget's story does make for some very interesting reading. The details of Irish peasant life and the fairy culture that was so ingrained in late 19th century Ireland are interesting and do help us to understand Bridget and her community. But when the book goes off on political and social tangents, it simply loses its focus and, I suspect, loses most of its readers. I wanted to read a compelling book about a mysterious "real-life" crime, not a treatise on Anglo-Irish politics. Had it been a political book I wanted, I would have chosen one far more comprehensive.

Bridget Cleary was undoubtedly a woman who deserved to live, a woman who could have contributed much to her community. Her death was a tragedy and it deserves a sensitive and meaningful exploration. As I said above, as long as Bourke stuck to the subject of Bridget Cleary, this book was good reading matter. It is when she lost her focus and veered off into politics and social mores that the book became so much less than it could have been.

Bridget Cleary was a fascinating woman and her murder deserves further investigation and remembrance. I just wouldn't recommend this book as a vehicle of either.

"The Burning of Bridget Cleary" would more appropriately be titled "What Was Happening in Ireland when Bridget Cleary was Burned." Don't the book expecting to read specifically about the injustice done to Bridget Cleary and the events that led up to it; this book talks more about Irish history and laws than it does about the actual burning. The story itself is just as hard to understand; the author will tell a small part of the story, then launch into 5 pages of history. By the time you reach the next part of the story, you've forgotten where you left off.

This is a fantastic book to read if you want a look at late nineteenth century culture and government. If you're looking for the story of Bridget Cleary, look elsewhere.

Angela Bourke has given the world a meticulously researched, exhaustively detailed account of an event in Irish history that illuminated the state of Irish society at that time.

Bourke takes the event of Bridget Cleary's awful death and the circumstances surrounding it and connects it with folk beliefs in Ireland and prevailing political and social climates of the time. Subjects as diverse as the English attitude towards the Irish, women's relatively independent position in Irish society, and the role of mythology in Irish life are explored in brilliant detail. This book is a pleasure to read for those truly interested in Irish culture, and introduces a number of excellent insights and historical tidbits. (My favorite was learning where the term 'hen' in reference to women came from.)

A must read for those interested in Irish studies, as well as those involved in womens studies. If you are looking for a prurient murder story this isn't it-it is much richer.

An interesting note to take is the difference between the Irish and American editions-the Irish cover features a picture of the house the murder took place in, and the man who committed it. The American cover has a beautiful young woman in a revealing nightgown...