Carleton, William (1794-1869), an Irish author, wrote many stories that reflect the author's insight into peasant life in Ireland. Carleton tried to describe accurately the virtues of the Irish people, because he thought that many people ignored these virtues. But he also described the Irish people's vices and became unpopular with many of his fellow countrymen. Carleton's writings dealt with such problems of the day as the distribution of agricultural land, secret patriotic societies, and the potato famine of the 1840's.