Catherine Gaskin (2 April 19296 September 2009) was an Irish–Australian

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

ist.

Biography

Gaskin was born in

Dundalk Bay Dundalk Bay ( ga, Cuan Dhún Dealgan) is a large (33 km2), exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland. The inner bay is shallow, sandy and intertidal, though it slopes into a deeper area 2 km from the transitional water boundary.< ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

, Ireland in 1929. When she was only three months old, her parents moved to Australia, settling in Coogee, a suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, where she grew up. Her first novel ''This Other Eden'', was written when she was 15 and published two years later.AustList
/ref> After her second novel, ''With Every Year'', was published, she moved to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Three best-sellers followed: ''Dust in Sunlight'' (1950), ''All Else is Folly'' (1951), and ''Daughter of the House'' (1952). She completed her best-known work, ''

Sara Dane ''Sara Dane'' is a 1982 Australian television miniseries about a woman transported from England to Australia for a crime she did not commit.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p231 Original novel ...

'', on her 25th birthday in 1954, and it was published in 1955. It sold more than 2 million copies, was translated into a number of other languages, and was made into a television mini-series in Australia in 1982. This novel is loosely based on the life of the Australian convict businesswoman

Mary Reibey Mary Reibey née ''Haydock'' (12 May 177730 May 1855) was an English-born merchant, shipowner and trader who was transported to Australia as a convict. After gaining her freedom, she was viewed by her contemporaries as a community role model an ...

, whose image has appeared on the Australian $20 note since 1994. Other novels included ''A Falcon for a Queen'' (1972) and ''The Summer of the Spanish Woman'' (1977). Gaskin moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

for ten years, after marrying a United States citizen. She then moved to the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

, then in 1967 to Ireland, where she became an Irish citizen. She also lived on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. Her last novel was ''The Charmed Circle'' (1988). She then returned to Sydney, where she died in September 2009, aged 80, from

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

Selected works

Novels

*This Other Eden (1947) *With Every Year (1948) *Dust in Sunlight (1950) *All Else Is Folly (1951) *Daughter of the House (1952) *Sara Dane (1954) *Blake's Reach (1958) *Corporation Wife (1960) *I Know My Love (1962) *The Tilsit Inheritance (1963) *The File On Devlin (1965) *Edge of Glass (1967) *Fiona (1970) *A Falcon for a Queen (1972) *The Property of a Gentleman (1974) *The Lynmara Legacy (1975) *The Summer of the Spanish Woman (1977) *Family Affairs (1980) *Promises (1982) *The Ambassador's Women (1985) *The Charmed Circle (1988)

Collections

*Selected Works (1978)

References and sources

;References ;Sources * Obituary, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 24 September 2009, p. 25

External links

Gaskin at the Fantastic Fiction website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaskin, Catherine 1929 births 2009 deaths Deaths from ovarian cancer Deaths from cancer in New South Wales Australian romantic fiction writers Irish emigrants to Australia Irish romantic fiction writers People from County Louth Writers from Sydney 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian writers Women romantic fiction writers