Mary McCarthy (1951–2013) was an Irish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

from

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home t ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Works

McCarthy was the author of five novels, ''Remember Me'', ''And No Bird Sang'', ''Crescendo'', ''Shame the Devil'' and ''After the Rain'' with Poolbeg Press. She sold over 100,000 copies of her works and three of her titles have been translated into other languages including French, German and Finnish. Her work has been praised by ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine.,"Mary McCarthy's world; two fine first novels". (27 March 2000): 97

Background and inspiration

McCarthy was part of the growth in contemporary women's Irish fiction which emerged in the 1990s. Other notable authors of this movement include

Patricia Scanlan Patricia Scanlan (born 1956) is an Irish novelist of over 20 books. Biography Scanlan was born in Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of ...

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columni ...

and

Cathy Kelly Cathy Kelly (born 12 September 1966) is an Irish former journalist and writer of women's fiction since 1997. She has gained international recognition with her popular fiction novels, which are published globally in many languages. In 2001, her n ...

. McCarthy's books were regarded as 'thinking fiction' within the industry, and were a marked departure from the simultaneously flourishing genre of holiday novels, also known as "

chick lit Chick lit is a term used to describe a type of popular fiction targeted at younger women. Widely used in the 1990s and 2000s, the term has fallen out of fashion with publishers while writers and critics have rejected its inherent sexism. Novels id ...

". All of her work received favourable reviews from television programmes and book reviews in the ''

Irish Daily Star The ''Irish Daily Star'' (formerly known simply as ''The Star'') is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by Reach plc, which owns the British '' Daily Star''. The ''Irish Daily Star'' became known for its comprehensive in-depth coverage ...

'', ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' and ''

The Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Republic of Ireland, Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditional ...

'' newspapers. In Ireland she appeared on

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in person as well as in interviews on radio for Today FM and Near FM. She wrote articles for the Irish Independent, Sunday World Magazine, Women's Way, Journal.ie and Bark! magazine.

Death

She died of cancer, aged 62, on 2 May 2013.

References

External links

And No Bird SangRemember MeCrescendo
1951 births Living people Writers from Dublin (city) Irish women novelists {{Ireland-writer-stub