Poor Farm

Ronan O'Driscoll's novel follows two people on the autism spectrum--one the child of the narrator, and the other a boy confined to a Poor Farm in Nova Scotia in the 19th century. The tale explores the attitudes and assumptions that contorted and contort the way we deal with neurodivergent people, and take us into the Dickensian grimness of Victorian-era poor houses and official policies for "dealing with" the poor and the weak.

About the author

Originally from the West of Ireland, Ronan O'Driscoll lived in Chicago, Dublin and Japan before settling in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia with his wife and children. A software developer and educator, he has always enjoyed writing. His first novel, Chief O'Neill, pays homage to his love of history and traditional Irish music.
His casual discovery of unmarked graves from a 19th-century "Poor Farm for the Harmlessly Insane" in Cole Harbour sparked his interest and research for this book.

Product details

• Authors: Ronan O'Driscoll
• Publisher: Moose House Publications
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2021
• EAN: 9781777293789
• ISBN: 978-1-77729-378-9
• No. of pages: 240
• Dimensions: 127 mm x 203 mm x 13 mm
• Weight: 262 g
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature