The novel concerns the arrival of the English Major Archer, recently discharged from the British Army, at the … See more

• Major Brendan Archer – ex-Army Officer and fiancé of Angela Spencer. Archer also appears in Farrell's later novel The Singapore Grip.
• Edward Spencer – owner of the Majestic hotel, his mental decline echoes the … See more

Farrell develops the insulated environment of the run-down hotel as a reflection on the attitudes of the historically privileged Anglo-Irish, in denial of the violent insurgency of the overwhelming majority … See more

William Trevor said in The Guardian on 10 October 1970, that the novel was a "clever book" and "a tour de force of considerable quality."
Vivian Mercier wrote in The Nation on 8 November … See more

In 1988, Troubles was adapted into a 208-minute film for television. Produced for LWT. The film stars Ian Charleson as Major Archer, Ian Richardson as Edward Spencer, and Emer Gillespie as Sarah. See more

In 2010, Troubles was awarded the Lost Man Booker Prize, a one-time award chosen among books published in 1970 which had not been considered for the Booker Prize at the time. The novel, one of six nominat… See more