Edna O'Brien

Ellen McWilliams (University of Exeter); Revised By: Maureen O'Connor (University College Cork)

Ed. by Eoghan Smith, Carlow College
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.4: Irish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Sorcha DeBrun (University of Limerick), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Anne Markey (Dublin City University), Ian Campbell Ross (Trinity College Dublin), Eoghan Smith (Carlow College), Sinéad Sturgeon (Queen's University Belfast)

Dates

Born 15 Dec 1930
Died 27 Jul 2024
Activity 1960-2019

Places

Born in Ireland, Republic of (Eire)
Active in Ireland, Republic of (Eire)

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Story-writer

Resources

O'Brien's Works

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One of the greatest Irish writers of the modern era, Edna O’Brien died on 27 July 2024, at the age of 93. Tributes sprang up around the world and continued to be published and broadcast for months afterwards. The fact that her passing was publicly mourned in her own country, that her life and work were celebrated and honoured in her homeland, marked the triumphal final act of her career, which began with several of her novels being banned by the Irish censors and decades of

ad hominen

attacks from her native country, where she had often been treated with scorn and a source of national shame. However, from the beginning of her long career, O’Brien’s achievements and talents were recognized elsewhere in the world. The author of eighteen novels, eight short-story collections, three…

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Citation: McWilliams, Ellen, Maureen O'Connor. "Edna O'Brien". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2007; last revised 19 March 2025. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3367, accessed 31 March 2025.]

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