A journey through the history of Ireland through the poetry of W.B. Yeats.

From the Celtic Twilight, through the revolutionary period to his public poet status in the 1930s, W.B. Yeats lived through extraordinary times and made a lasting contribution to Ireland through his writing. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first such honour to be awarded to an Irish person.

Daniel Mulhall, a former diplomat, brings his awareness of the role of Yeats and other Irish writers in the state's use of soft power. Following the huge success of his personal guide to Ulysses in 2022, Mulhall returns with a similarly accessible and illuminating guide to W.B. Yeats and his special position in the Ireland of his time. Each chapter takes a poem and a major historical event as its starting point and focuses on Yeats's Irishness and his contribution to his country as it transitioned towards independence.