From the start, Jennifer Johnston’s deceptively slight novels aroused controversy about where to place her work in the Irish literary canon. An early article by Christine St Peter defended her against accusations by critics such as Mark Mortimer and Seamus Deane that her work was limited in scope (St Peter, 1991). Rüdiger Imhof, reviewing The Invisible Worm, summarised Johnston’s novels as “fraught with artistic shortcomings” (Linen Hall Review April 1991, 28). Yet many contemporary Irish authors have testified to Johnston’s influence on their writing and, in 2004, at the Joyce celebrations in New York, Roddy Doyle provocatively declared: “She is the greatest Irish writer. She writes perfect books” (Sunday Tribune, 8 February 2004, 3). Popular with the general reader but underrated in critical discourse, Johnston has nevertheless been the subject of many scholarly articles and...
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Citation: Ingman, Heather. "Jennifer Johnston". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 December 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2390, accessed 09 June 2026.]
