J.G.Farrell┬а(1935тАУ1979) was born with a caul, long considered a sign of good fortune. Academically and athletically gifted, Farrell grew up in England and Ireland. In 1956, during his first term at Oxford, he suffered what seemed a minor injury on the rugby pitch. Within days, however, he was diagnosed with polio, which nearly killed him and left him permanently weakened. FarrellтАЩs early novels, which include┬аThe Lung┬аand┬аA Girl in the Head,have been overshadowed by his Empire TrilogyтАФTroubles, the Booker PrizeтАУwinning┬аSiege of Krishnapur,┬аand┬аThe Singapore Grip┬а(all three are published by┬аNYRB┬аClassics). In early 1979, Farrell bought a farmhouse in Bantry Bay on the Irish coast. тАЬIтАЩve been trying to write,тАЭ he admitted, тАЬbut there are so many competing interestsтАУ?the prime one at the moment is fishing off the rocksтАж . Then a colony of bees has come to live above my back door and IтАЩm thinking of turning them into my feudal retainers.тАЭ On August 11, Farrell was hit by a wave while fishing and was washed out to sea. His body was found a month later. A biography of┬аJ.G.┬аFarrell, J.G. Farrell: The Making of a Writerby Lavinia Greacen, was published by Bloomsbury in┬а1999.
John Banville┬аwas born in Wexford, Ireland, in 1945. He is the author of many novels, including┬аThe Book of Evidence,┬аThe Untouchable, and┬аEclipse. BanvilleтАЩs novel┬аThe Sea┬аwas awarded the 2005 Man Booker Prize. His most recent book is┬аMrs. Osmond. On occasion he writes under the pen name Benjamin Black.