in 1938 kavanagh went to london. he remained there for about five months. "the green fool", a loosely autobiographical novel, was published in 1938 and kavanagh was accused of libel. oliver st. john gogarty sued kavanagh for his description of his first visit to gogarty's home: "i mistook gogarty's white-robed maid for his wife or his mistress; i expected every poet to have a spare wife." gogarty, who had taken offence at the close coupling of the words "wife" and "mistress", was awarded £100 in damages. the book, which recounted kavanagh's rural childhood and his attempts to become a writer, received international recognition and good reviews. however, it was also claimed to be somewhat 'anti-catholic' in tone, to which kavanagh reacted by demanding that the work be prominently displayed in dublin book shop windows.