Troubles

novel by Farrell

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 19, 2026

Quick Summary

Troubles is a 1970 novel by J.G. Farrell, part of his acclaimed Empire trilogy. The novel is set in a decaying hotel in Ireland during the Irish War of Independence, following World War I. It uses the hotel as a metaphor for the decline of the British Empire. While not eligible for the Booker Prize at the time of its release, it later received the Lost Booker Prize in 2010. Farrell's trilogy also includes The Siege of Krishnapur and The Singapore Grip, which explore British imperialism in different historical contexts.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

J.G. Farrell
The first, Troubles (1970), focuses on the struggle for Irish independence in the years following World War I, with its principal setting—the sprawling, run-down Majestic Hotel—serving as a metaphor for the dying empire. Though a rule change made the novel (and all others published in 1970) ineligible…
Read More
The first, Troubles (1970), focuses on the struggle for Irish independence in the years following World War I, with its principal setting—the sprawling, run-down Majestic Hotel—serving as a metaphor for the dying empire. Though a rule change made the novel (and all others published in 1970) ineligible…
Read More

English literature
Fiction
Farrell (Troubles [1970], The Siege of Krishnapur [1973], and The Singapore Grip [1978]) likewise spotlighted imperial discomfiture. Then, in the 1980s, postcolonial voices made themselves audible. Salman Rushdie’s crowded comic saga about the generation born as Indian independence dawned, Midnight’s Children
Read More
Farrell (Troubles [1970], The Siege of Krishnapur [1973], and The Singapore Grip [1978]) likewise spotlighted imperial discomfiture. Then, in the 1980s, postcolonial voices made themselves audible. Salman Rushdie’s crowded comic saga about the generation born as Indian independence dawned, Midnight’s Children
Read More