Edna O’Brien, an Irish author, has died at the age of 93

Edna O’Brien, the radical Irish writer whose ground breaking first novel “The Country Girls” was burned and banned in her native country, passed away on Saturday aged 93.

Her publishers, Faber Books, released a statement on X announcing her passing. They wrote “It is with great sadness that Caroline Michel at PFD and Faber announce the death of beloved author Edna O’Brien, She died peacefully on Saturday 27 July after a long illness. Our thoughts are with her family and friends, in particular her sons Marcus and Carlo. The family has requested privacy at this time.

“The Country Girls” was burned and banned in her native country

Edna O’Brien, born in 1930 in County Clare, Ireland, gained literary fame with her 1960 novel, The Country Girls. The series follows Caithleen and Baba as they grow up, marry, and plan their futures. 

Despite its success in Britain and the United States, it was banned in Ireland due to censorship rules and Catholic values.

O’Brien started her work as a chemist in 1950 before deciding to become a writer. She later wed fellow writer Ernest Gebler and had two kids with him. 1964 saw the pair’s divorce.

According to The Guardian, she relocated to London with her family in 1959 and started working for the publisher Hutchinson. Soon after, she received a commission from the corporation to write her own novel.

“she was one of the greatest writers of our age”

O’Brien’s feminist novels, such as The Little Red Chairs (2015), House of Splendid Isolation (1994), and Girls (2019), have gained acclaim for their stories about women in male-dominated societies. She also wrote screenplays, plays, a memoir, and biographies of James Joyce and Lord Byron.

In 2015, in an interview with Faber, she spoke about her status as a feminist writer.She said “I’ve fallen in and out of favour with feminists, because I do not write to formula or hold to a rigid political correctness. I couldn’t, But let me say this, I know that women have been treated appallingly down the ages.”

She also added “I grew up in a patriarchal society and my first books, for all their comedy, are partly protest. I do not apologize to anyone for giving my women broken hearts, because it happens and it happens for men also, If you write about feelings, then you have a vast and moving canvas to explore.”

According to Faber, “she was one of the greatest writers of our age.”

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