Erskine Childers, A Very English Irishman Stranger than fiction - Roy Foster explores the metamorphosis of a stiff-upper-lip Boy's Own novelist into a Sinn Fein martyr. Roy Foster | Published in History Today Volume 38 Issue 10 October 1988 To continue reading this article you will need to purchase access to the online archive. Buy Online Access Buy Print & Archive Subscription If you have already purchased access, or are a print & archive subscriber, please ensure you are logged in. Please email digital@historytoday.com if you have any problems.