First published in 1994, Clare was regarded as a daring and intelligent novel that used multiple perspectives and first-person narratives to reveal the mind of John Clare, famed 18th-century poet and naturalist. Clare descended into madness in his middle age and the novel deals with the man before and after the beginning of his illness. Hailed as 'subtle' and 'delicate, sensuous and lyrical', the novel delivers on an emotional intellectual level. Republished in New Island's Modern Irish Classics series for the first time.