‘Monster Men’ and the Ethics of Display: The Afterlife of Charles Byrne, ‘The Irish Giant’

This chapter discusses the relationship between fictional retellings of Charles Byrne, who exhibited himself as ‘The Irish Giant’ in the eighteenth century, and the display of his remains at the Hunterian Museum, London. I examine how Byrne’s body fluctuates between pathology and myth, forming a bridge between two intersecting modes of display. Focusing on Hilary Mantel’s novel The Giant O’Brien (1998), I discuss how Byrne’s body continues to inform both fiction and museum practice, revealing how the intentions of a medicalised display such as the Hunterian Museum does not efface the drama and emotional resonance extant in Byrne’s exhibition. The use of sensationalising display techniques in the museum space mirrors (quite literally with its aesthetically reflective surfaces) the techniques drawn upon in neo-Victorian fiction.