In Edna O’Brien’s Down by the River, a work of fiction grounded in history, 14-year-old Mary is raped by her father and, after a failed abortion attempt, is forced into an insane asylum where religious fanatics insist she have the baby. Her father avoids prosecution. In another history-inspired bad dad story, The Great Stork Derby, a husband pressures his wife to have babies for a large cash prize and, fifty years later, learns the true value of fatherhood. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
