Check out our Most Anticipated Books for 2025

Ferdia Lennon Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Ferdia Lennon

Ferdia Lennon

How to pronounce Ferdia Lennon: FUR-dee-ah LEN-non

Ferdia Lennon Biography

Ferdia Lennon was born in Dublin to an Irish mother and Libyan father. He studied History and Classics at University College Dublin and holds an MA in Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia. His short stories have appeared in publications such as The Irish Times and The Stinging Fly. In 2019 and 2021, he received Literature Bursary Awards from the Arts Council Ireland. After spending many years in Paris, he now lives in Norfolk, England with his wife and son.

Ferdia Lennon's website

This bio was last updated on 04/09/2024. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Interview

The author shares the Plutarch passage that inspired Glorious Exploits

What was your writing process like? Did you have a writing routine or any regular rituals?

Ideally, I'm a morning writer and like to start first thing when I get up, before email or really anything else. Often, during the writing Glorious Exploits and my writing life in general, that wasn't always possible, and I would just write whenever I could. Ultimately, it doesn't matter when, as long as you're writing.

How did you first come up with the idea for the book?

The inspiration was from a passage in Plutarch's Lives where we learn that Athenian prisoners of war, who had tried and failed to conquer the Sicilian city of Syracuse, survived because their captors would give food and wine in exchange for quotes from Euripides' plays. My novel uses this as its starting point and follows two unemployed, theatre-obsessed Syracusan potters who decide to put on Medea with an all-star cast of Athenian prisoners.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character, who would it be and why?

Maybe Wilkins Micawber from David Copperfield. I'm guessing I would have to pick up the bill, but it would be a very entertaining meal.

If you were a character in a novel, what would be your signature quirk or catchphrase?

I think, 'Buy my book.' has a nice ring ...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Books by this Author

Books by Ferdia Lennon at BookBrowse
Glorious Exploits jacket
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Ferdia Lennon but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • M.T. Anderson

    M.T. Anderson

    M.T. ANDERSON is the New York Times bestselling author of Feed, a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, winner of the ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Glorious Exploits

    Try:
    Nicked
    by M.T. Anderson

  • Pat Barker

    Pat Barker

    Par Barker is the author of Union Street, Blow Your House Down, Liza's England, The Man Who Wasn't There, the Regeneration trilogy (Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road, which won the Booker Prize), Another ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Glorious Exploits

    Try:
    The Women of Troy
    by Pat Barker

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

Non-members can see 2 results. Become a member
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Book of George
    The Book of George
    by Kate Greathead
    The premise of The Book of George, the witty, highly entertaining new novel from Kate Greathead, is ...
  • Book Jacket: The Sequel
    The Sequel
    by Jean Hanff Korelitz
    In Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Sequel, Anna Williams-Bonner, the wife of recently deceased author ...
  • Book Jacket: My Good Bright Wolf
    My Good Bright Wolf
    by Sarah Moss
    Sarah Moss has been afflicted with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa since her pre-teen years but...
  • Book Jacket
    Canoes
    by Maylis De Kerangal
    The short stories in Maylis de Kerangal's new collection, Canoes, translated from the French by ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Poetry is like fish: if it's fresh, it's good; if it's stale, it's bad; and if you're not certain, try it on the ...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

X M T S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.