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Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and society as a whole. Her first novel, '' The Country Girls'' (1960), has been credited with breaking silence on sexual matters and social issues during a repressive period in Ireland after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The book was banned and denounced from the
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
. Many of her novels were translated into French. Her memoir, '' Country Girl'', was published in 2012, and her last novel, '' Girl'', was published in 2019. Many of her novels were based in Ireland, especially in County Clare, but ''Girl'' was a fictional account of a victim of the 2014 Chibok kidnapping in Nigeria. In 2015, she was elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists and honoured with the title Saoi. She was the recipient of many other awards and honours, winning the Irish PEN Award in 2001 and the David Cohen Prize in 2019. France made her a in 2021. Her short story collection '' Saints and Sinners'' won the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the world's richest prize for that genre.


Early life and education

Josephine Edna O'Brien was born on 15 December 1930 to farmer Michael O'Brien and Lena Cleary, at Tuamgraney in County Clare, Ireland, a place she would later describe as "fervid" and "enclosed". She had a Roman Catholic upbringing and was the youngest child of "a strict, religious family". The family lived at "Drewsborough" (also "Drewsboro"), a "large two-storey house", which her mother kept in "semi-grandeur". Michael O'Brien, "whose family had seen wealthier times" as landowners, had inherited a "thousand acres or more" and "a fortune from rich uncles", but was a "profligate" hard-drinker who gambled away his inheritance, the land "sold off in bits ... or bartered to pay debts".Country Girl: A Memoir, Edna O'Brien, 2012, p. 4 Her mother, Lena, "came from a poorer background". According to O'Brien, her mother was a strong, controlling woman, who had emigrated temporarily to America and worked for some time as a maid in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, for a well-off Irish-American family, before returning to Ireland to raise her family. From 1941 to 1946, O'Brien was educated at St. Raphael's College, a boarding school run by the
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...
in Loughrea, County Galway, a circumstance that contributed to a "suffocating" childhood. She recalled: "I rebelled against the coercive and stifling religion into which I was born and bred. It was very frightening and all-pervasive. I'm glad it has gone." Because she deeply missed her mother, she became fond of a nun and tried to identify the nun with herself. In 1950, having studied at night at a pharmaceutical college and worked in a
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
pharmacy during the day, O'Brien was awarded a licence as a
pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...
.


Career

In Ireland, O'Brien read such writers as Tolstoy, Thackeray, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. In Dublin, she bought ''Introducing James Joyce'', with an introduction written by T. S. Eliot, and said later that when she learned that
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
's '' A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' was autobiographical, it made her realise where she might turn, should she want to write herself. "Unhappy houses are a very good incubation for stories," she said. In London, she started work as a reader for Hutchinson, where, based on her reports, she was commissioned for £50 to write a novel. She published her first book, '' The Country Girls'', in 1960. It was the first part of a trilogy of novels (later collected as ''The Country Girls Trilogy''), which included '' The Lonely Girl'' (1962) and '' Girls in Their Married Bliss'' (1964). Shortly after their publication, the books were placed on the censorship index and banned in her native country because of their frank portrayals of the sex lives of their characters. O'Brien herself was accused of "corrupting the minds of young women". She later said, "I felt no fame. I was married. I had young children. All I could hear out of Ireland from my mother and anonymous letters was bile and odium and outrage". The book was also denounced from the
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...
. It had been claimed that copies of ''The Country Girls'' were burned when it was published, but according to
Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944) is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost Feminism, feminists, often contributes columns to the ...
, in a letter to The Times in July 2024, an investigation in 2015 found no witnesses or evidence and it was concluded that the story was probably "legend rather than fact". Many of her novels were not well received in Ireland. Her fourth novel, '' August Is a Wicked Month'' (1965), in which an unhappily married woman has a "sensual awakening on the French Riviera", was excoriated in the press and banned in Ireland. ''In The Forest'' (2002), a fictional account of a notorious Irish murder, was described by '' Irish Times'' critic Fintan O'Toole as "morally criminal". In the 1960s, O'Brien was a patient of Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing: "I thought he might be able to help me. He couldn't do that – he was too mad himself – but he opened doors", she said later. Her novel, ''A Pagan Place'' (1970), was about her repressive childhood. Her parents were vehemently against all things related to literature and her mother strongly disapproved of her daughter's career as a writer. Once, when her mother found a Seán O'Casey book in her daughter's possession, she tried to burn it. Alongside Teddy Taylor (
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
),
Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British politician who was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition from 1980 to 1983. Foot beg ...
( Labour) and Derek Worlock (Catholic
Archbishop of Liverpool The Metropolitan Archbishop of Liverpool is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool and Metropolitan bishop, metropolitan of the Province of Liverpool (also known as the Northern Province) in England. Th ...
), O'Brien was a panel member for the first edition of the BBC's '' Question Time'' in 1979, and was awarded the first answer in the programme's history ("Edna O'Brien, you were born there", referring to Ireland). Taylor's death in 2017 left her the sole surviving member. In 1980, she wrote a play, ''Virginia'', about
Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...
, which was first staged in June 1980 at the
Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...
, Ontario, Canada. It was subsequently performed in the
West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...
, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, starring
Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...
, and directed by Robin Phillips. The play was staged at
The Public Theater The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
in New York in 1985. Also in 1980, O'Brien appeared alongside
Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor of film, television, and theatre. Born in New York City to Irish parents, he was raised in Ireland and England. He began his career in England during t ...
in the TV movie ''The Hard Way''. Other works by O'Brien included a biography of
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...
, published in 1999, and a biography of the poet
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, ''Byron in Love,'' in 2009. ''
House of Splendid Isolation ''House of Splendid Isolation'' is a 1994 novel by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. The novel depicts the relations of an Irish Republican Army terrorist and his hostage, an elderly woman. The novel brings elements of the thriller genre to O'Br ...
'' (1994), her novel about a terrorist who goes on the run, marked a new phase in her writing career. Part of her research involved visiting Irish republican
Dominic McGlinchey Dominic McGlinchey (1954 – 10 February 1994) was an Irish people, Irish Irish republicanism, republican paramilitary leader who moved from the Provisional IRA to become head of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) paramilitary group in th ...
, later shot dead, whom she called "a grave and reflective man", and "most reflective and at the same time most forthcoming". She told Marianne Heron, of the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'', that she had told McGlinchey "that she liked everything about him except what he was ndhe told her that his mother said the same thing". O'Brien denied having an affair with McGlinchey, and claimed later that, as a result of her research, she had to refute questions as to whether she "had love affairs with republicans". '' Down by the River'' (1996) concerned an underage rape victim who sought an abortion in England, the "Miss X case". '' In the Forest'' (2002) dealt with the real-life case of Brendan O'Donnell, who abducted and murdered a woman, her three-year-old son, and a priest, in rural Ireland. O'Brien's last novel, '' Girl'' (2019), was based on the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria in 2014. She travelled to that country twice to do research, which included interviewing numerous people, from "escaped girls, their mothers and sisters, to trauma specialists, doctors and
Unicef UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
". She later said that she had tried to create a "kind of mythic story from all this pain and horror", and was disappointed by its poor reception in the US, although it was well-received in France and Germany. In 2020, she opened the Avignon theatre festival with a reading from the book. Poet Imtiaz Dharker, judge for the 2019 David Cohen Prize, said about ''Girl'': "I thought I had the course of O'Brien's work mapped out before the judging came around, and then, towards the end of the process, another great tome dropped through the letterbox, changing the whole terrain". O'Brien regarded ''Girl'' as a continuation of the focus of her career, "to chart and get inside the mind, soul, heart and emotion of girls in some form of restriction, some form of life that isn't easy, but who find a way to literally plough their way through and come out as winners of sort – maybe not getting prizes – but come through their experiences and live to tell the tale. It is a theme I have lived and often cried with". Her work includes references to Irish lore and history and mentions of distinctive geographic features such as Druids' circles, Inis Cealtra, and Lough Derg, County Donegal. Many of her works were translated into French, with '' The Country Girls'' translation published in 1960 by Éditions Julliard and in 1962 by Presses de la Cité. Later titles were published by Gallimard and then by
Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayar ...
. In 2010, O'Brien formed an exclusive relationship with publisher Sabine Wespieser. Her work was much loved in France, "both for the quality of her writing but also for her universal struggles which received a particular resonance in France" (French Embassy in London). After the publication of ''Girl'' in 2019, she featured in a number of French publications, including ''
Télérama ''Télérama'' is a weekly French language, French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic ...
'', ''
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'', '' Le Monde des Livres'', and '' Le Journal du Dimanche''.
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, Georgia, US, holds her papers from 1939 to 2000. More recent papers are held at
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
. In September 2021, it was announced that O'Brien would be donating her archive to the
National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...
. The library was to hold papers from O'Brien covering the period of 2000 to 2021, including correspondence, drafts, notes and revisions.


Personal life

In 1954, O'Brien met in Dublin and married, against her parents' wishes, the Irish writer Ernest Gébler who was of Czech origin and 16 years her senior. The couple moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1959, where, as she later put it, "We lived in SW 20. Sub-urb-ia". They had two sons, Sasha, an architect who lives in London, and writer Carlo Gébler, but the marriage ended in 1964. Initially believing he deserved credit for helping her become an accomplished writer, Ernest came to believe he was the author of O'Brien's books. In 2009, Carlo revealed that his parents' marriage had been volatile, with bitter rows between his mother and father over her success. Ernest Gébler died in 1998. O'Brien remained in London until her death, although she often visited Ireland. In 2020, at the age of 90, she was renting a flat in Chelsea. The reaction to ''The Country Girls'' in Ireland damaged her relationship with her mother, who was ashamed of her daughter. (Her mother died in 1977.) The press often portrayed O'Brien as a "party girl", with American magazine '' Vanity Fair'' calling her "the playgirl of the western world". She socialised with glamorous men such as
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
and Robert Mitchum, but said later that she was "doing the cooking" at most of the parties.


Death and legacy

Edna O'Brien died following a long illness in London, England, on 27 July 2024, at the age of 93. She is buried on Inis Cealtra (Holy Island), an island in Lough Derg. According to Scottish novelist Andrew O'Hagan, O'Brien's place in Irish letters is assured: "She changed the nature of Irish fiction; she brought the woman's experience and sex and internal lives of those people on to the page, and she did it with style, and she made those concerns international." Irish novelist Colum McCann avers that O'Brien has been "the advance scout for the Irish imagination" for over fifty years. Irish president Michael D. Higgins, also a writer and poet, wrote: "Through that deeply insightful work, rich in humanity, Edna O'Brien was one of the first writers to provide a true voice to the experiences of women in Ireland in their different generations and played an important role in transforming the status of women across Irish society". A documentary film '' Blue Road - The Edna O'Brien Story'', by Sinéad O'Shea, premiered at the
2024 Toronto International Film Festival The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 5–15, 2024. The festival opened with David Gordon Green's film ''Nutcrackers (film), Nutcrackers'', and closed with Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film ''The Deb (fil ...
, and was released in Irish cinemas in January, and broadcast by Sky Arts in June 2025. The documentary is based on her journals (narrated by Jessie Buckley), and includes interviews with O'Brien and others.


Recognition, awards and honours

Philip Roth once described her as "the most gifted woman now writing in English". A former president of Ireland,
Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...
, cited her as "one of the great creative writers of her generation". Others who hailed her as one of the greatest writers of her time included
John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, Literary adaptation, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Marcel Proust, Proust, via Vladimir Nabokov, Nabokov", ...
,
Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...
and
Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...
. O'Brien's awards included the '' Yorkshire Post'' Book Award in 1970 (for ''A Pagan Place'') and 'Book of the Year' in 1972; the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' Book Prize in 1990 for '' Lantern Slides;'' the Writers' Guild Award for best fiction (1993); the European Prize for Literature (1995); and a lifetime achievement award from Irish writers' society PEN in 2001. In 2006, she was appointed adjunct professor of English Literature in
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
. In 2009, O'Brien was honoured with the Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award during a special ceremony at the year's Irish Book Awards in Dublin. Her collection '' Saints and Sinners'' won the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, with judge Thomas McCarthy referring to her as "the Solzhenitsyn of Irish life".
RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
aired a documentary on her as part of its Arts strand in early 2012. In
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
, for her contributions to literature, she was appointed an honorary
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
. O'Brien was presented with the
Torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some have hook and ring closures and a few hav ...
of the Saoi of Aosdána in 2015 by Irish President Michael D. Higgins. In 2024, Higgins noted that her "election as Saoi, chosen by her fellow artists, was the ultimate expression of the esteem in which her work is held". He presented her with the Presidential Distinguished Service Award in 2018. In 2019, O'Brien was awarded the David Cohen Prize for Literature at a ceremony in London. The £40,000 prize, awarded every two years in recognition of a living writer's lifetime achievement in literature, has been described as the "UK and Ireland Nobel in literature". Judge David Park said "In winning the David Cohen Prize, Edna O'Brien adds her name to a literary roll call of honour". '' Girl'' (2019) was nominated for two awards in France: the
Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .
and the Prix Femina étranger. In March 2021, France announced that it would be naming O'Brien a '' Commandeur de l'
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
'', the country's highest honour for the arts. Other honours and awards include: * 1962: Writing in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' in 1960,
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social crit ...
said that ''The Country Girls'' deserved his "personal first-novel prize of the year". This comment was frequently interpreted as referring to a formal "Kingsley Amis Award", including by O'Brien's publishers, but no such literary prize exists. * 1970: ''
The Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...
'' Book Award (Book of the Year), for '' A Pagan Place'' * 1990: ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction, for '' Lantern Slides'' * 1991: Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italy), for '' Girl with Green Eyes'' * 1993: Writers' Guild Award (Best Fiction), for '' Time and Tide'' * 1995: European Prize for Literature (European Association for the Arts), for ''
House of Splendid Isolation ''House of Splendid Isolation'' is a 1994 novel by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. The novel depicts the relations of an Irish Republican Army terrorist and his hostage, an elderly woman. The novel brings elements of the thriller genre to O'Br ...
'' * 2000: Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
* 2001: Irish PEN Award * 2006: Ulysses Medal (University College Dublin) * 2009: Bob Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award * 2010: Shortlisted for Irish Book of the Decade ( Irish Book Awards), for '' In the Forest'' * 2012: Irish Book Awards (Irish Non-Fiction Book), for ''Country Girl'' * 2018: PEN/Nabokov Award * 2019: David Cohen Prize * 2019: Prix Femina spécial, awarded in honour of her whole body of work; the first time a non-French author had won it * 2021: Commandeur de l'
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...
(France)


List of works


Novels

* 1960: '' The Country Girls'' () * 1962: ''The Lonely Girl'' later published as ''Girl with Green Eyes'' () * 1964: '' Girls in Their Married Bliss'' () * 1965: '' August Is a Wicked Month'' () * 1966: '' Casualties of Peace'' () * 1970: '' A Pagan Place'' () * 1972: ''
Night Night, or nighttime, is the period of darkness when the Sun is below the horizon. Sunlight illuminates one side of the Earth, leaving the other in darkness. The opposite of nighttime is daytime. Earth's rotation causes the appearance of ...
'' () * 1977: ''Johnny I Hardly Knew You'' (); in US, "I Hardly Knew You" () * 1987: ''The Country Girls Trilogy'' with new epilogue () * 1988: '' The High Road'' () * 1992: '' Time and Tide'' () * 1994: ''
House of Splendid Isolation ''House of Splendid Isolation'' is a 1994 novel by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien. The novel depicts the relations of an Irish Republican Army terrorist and his hostage, an elderly woman. The novel brings elements of the thriller genre to O'Br ...
'' () * 1996: '' Down by the River'' () * 1999: '' Wild Decembers'' () * 2002: '' In the Forest'' () * 2006: '' The Light of Evening'' () * 2015: '' The Little Red Chairs'' () * 2019: '' Girl'' ()


Short story collections

* 1968: ''The Love Object and Other Stories'' () * 1974: ''A Scandalous Woman and Other Stories'' () * 1978: ''Mrs Reinhardt and Other Stories'' () * 1982: ''Returning'' () * 1985: ''A Fanatic Heart'' () * 1990: '' Lantern Slides'' () * 2011: '' Saints and Sinners'' () * 2013: ''The Love Object: Selected Stories'', a fifty-year retrospective, ()


Drama

* 1973: "A Pagan Place" () * 1975: ''Zee and Co'' () * 1980: ''Virginia'' () * 2005: ''Family Butchers'' * 2005: ''Triptych and Iphigenia'' () * 2009: ''Haunted'' * 2011: "The Country Girls" () * 2014: "Joyce's Women" ()


Screenplays

* 1971: " Zee & Co." ()


Nonfiction books

* 1976: ''Mother Ireland'', () * 1977: ''Arabian Days'' () * 1979: ''Some Irish Loving'', as editor: anthology () * 1981: ''James & Nora'' (); reprinted in 2020 * 1986: ''Vanishing Ireland'' (with photographs by Richard Fitzgerald), () * 1999: ''James Joyce'', biography () * 2009: ''Byron in Love'', biography () * 2012: '' Country Girl'', memoir ()


Children's books

* 1981: ''The Dazzle'' () * 1982: ''A Christmas Treat'' () * 1983: ''The Rescue'' () * 2017: ''Tales for the Telling'', ()


Poetry collections

* 1989: ''On the Bone'' ()


Short stories


See also


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links

*
2015 interview
with Philip Dodd on BBC * at WiredForBooks, 22 May 1992
"Lit Chat"
at salon.com, 2 December 1995
"You have to be lonely to be a writer" – O'Brien video interview
for ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 7 December 2012
Video recording of O'Brien reads an extract from her autobiography ''Country Girl''

O'Brien papers, circa 1939–2000
at Emory University {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Edna 1930 births 2024 deaths Aosdána members David Cohen Prize recipients Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Honorary Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Irish biographers 21st-century Irish memoirists Irish women memoirists Irish PEN Award for Literature winners Irish women short story writers Irish women dramatists and playwrights Irish women novelists Irish women poets Writers from County Clare Saoithe 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Irish novelists 20th-century Irish short story writers 20th-century Irish women writers 21st-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish short story writers 21st-century Irish women writers Irish women biographers PEN/Nabokov Award winners Writers about Ireland