The Albany Cycle by William Kennedy
The Albany Cycle by William Kennedy is a series of interconnected novels that explore the lives of Irish American families in Albany, New York, particularly focusing on the Phelan, Quinn, and Daugherty families. The narrative spans several decades and incorporates both fictional and historical elements, providing a rich tapestry of the region's cultural and social dynamics. The cycle begins with "Ironweed," which tells the story of Francis Phelan, a man grappling with guilt and isolation after tragic events in his past. The subsequent novel, "Billy Phelan's Greatest Game," follows the complexities of Albany's political landscape through the eyes of Billy Phelan, Francis's son.
"Legs," the first published novel in the series, centers on the infamous gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond and is narrated by a lawyer who becomes fascinated with Diamond's life during Prohibition. Additional works like "Quinn's Book" and "Very Old Bones" delve into themes of Irish emigration and familial strife, highlighting the impact of societal issues on personal relationships. The cycle intricately weaves together themes of identity, morality, and the immigrant experience, making it a significant exploration of the Irish American narrative in the early to mid-20th century.
On this Page
The Albany Cycle by William Kennedy
First published:Legs, 1975; Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game, 1978; Ironweed, 1983; Albany Cycle, 1985 (includes Legs, Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game, and Ironweed) Quinn’s Book, 1988; Very Old Bones, 1992; The Flaming Corsage, 1996
The Work
William Kennedy’s Albany novels tell the saga of the Irish American Phelan, Quinn, and Daugherty families, and a sixth, Legs, deals with the Depression-era gangster Jack “Legs” Diamond. All share the upstate New York region, the city of Albany in particular, as their principal location and involve historical and fictional figures and events. The Albany cycle portrays events and characters during many decades, and the most influential characters and events are interwoven through several novels.
Legs, the first novel of the cycle to be published, stands outside the family saga and is the fictionalized story of Legs Diamond, a complex antihero who achieved mythic status among the urban working classes during the politically corrupt years of Prohibition. Its narrator, Marcus Gorman, is a decadent Albany lawyer who is fascinated with Diamond. Gorman befriends and legally defends Diamond, acting as the intelligent observer of societal norms and corrupt deviance from them. He appears as a minor character in the second novel, Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game, which also involves the seamier side of Albany political life. Billy Phelan, the central character, is the abandoned son of the man who is the central character of Kennedy’s breakthrough work, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Ironweed, which properly begins the saga of individual, family, and ethnic identity.
Francis Phelan is the guilt-ridden father who has abandoned his family in self-imposed isolation after having killed a scab worker in a labor fight and after having accidentally killed his infant son. Francis’ twenty-two-year exile leads him through the nightmarish world of derelict alcoholics, where his suffering bespeaks the essential humanity of a man who recognizes and cannot forgive his transgressions. Francis’ moral introspection extends to his Irish American youth, during which strained relations with his mother and sister led to his separation from his family. These troubles augur the tormented history of the entire Phelan clan.
Quinn’s Book, set between 1849 and 1864, chronicles Irish emigration (resulting from famine) to post-Civil War Albany and the complex social milieu that evolves into the twentieth century setting for the Phelans, Quinns, and Daughertys. Very Old Bones traces the destructive matriarchal influence exerted on the Phelan family in response to a brutal murder committed out of sexual frustration. The Flaming Corsage weaves together motifs from the earlier novels in its depiction of the marital travails of a Phelan neighbor, Edward Daugherty, and his seductive wife Katrina, whose brief liaison with the youthful Francis resulted in the first of his exiles from his family.
Bibliography
Edinger, Claudio. The Making of Ironweed. New York: Penguin Books, 1988. A detailed look at the 1987 film made from the third novel of The Albany Cycle and the process of its production. Kennedy himself wrote the script, and the book illuminates a number of aspects of the novel, as does a viewing of the film itself.
Kennedy, William. O Albany! Improbable City of Political Wizards, Fearless Ethnics, Spectacular Aristocrats, Splendid Nobodies and Underrated Scoundrels. New York: Viking Press, 1983.
Kennedy, William. Riding the Yellow Trolley Car. New York: Viking Press, 1993. The first section of this collection of pieces by Kennedy includes many of the author’s reflections on the novels that make up The Albany Cycle. The fifth section contains his account of the making of the film Ironweed.
McCaffery, Larry, and Sinda Gregory. Alive and Writing: Interviews with American Authors of the 1980’s. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1987. Probing, engaging interview with Kennedy. Provides a concentrated supplement to the materials in Riding the Yellow Trolley Car.
Reilly, Edward C. William Kennedy. Boston: Twayne, 1991. Introduction to Kennedy’s life and works for the general reader. Broadly useful critical study. Includes bibliography.
Van Dover, J. K. Understanding William Kennedy. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1991. Asserts that Kennedy moves toward his true subject in the process of writing The Albany Cycle. Heavy emphasis on the role of place in Kennedy’s work.