Irish scandal author Edna O'Brien is dead
Edna O'Brien, the Irish Writer, Passed Away at the Age of 93. She was Known for Her Controversial Debut Novel "The Country Girls" and Her Contacts with Film Stars and Former First Ladies of the USA.
The Irish author Edna O'Brien passed away after a long illness at the age of 93. Her publisher Faber and her agency PFD confirmed the news. She reportedly died on a Saturday. With her debut novel "The Country Girls," she caused a scandal in Ireland. She is also known for her connections to film stars and former First Ladies of the USA.
"Edna O'Brien was one of the greatest writers of our time," Faber stated. "She revolutionized Irish literature by capturing the lives of women and the complexity of human existence in a brilliant and sparse prose that influenced many subsequent writers."
Her debut novel "The Country Girls" (German: "The Fifteen-Year-Olds") was published in 1960. O'Brien wrote it in just three weeks. She gained notoriety when she lived in England with her husband and two small children. The novel tells the story of two young women who leave a rural convent to explore the dangers and adventures of Dublin. Critics were offended by passages about a sexual experience. Irish Justice Minister Charles Haughey referred to the book as "garbage." In her hometown of Tuamgraney, the novel was publicly burned.
The novel was also rejected by her parents and her husband, the Czech-Irish writer Ernest Gebler, with whom she had marital problems. In her memoirs "Country Girl" from 2012, O'Brien wrote that her husband said to her after reading the manuscript, "You can write, but I will never forgive you." This led to their divorce.
Feminist and Social Critical Themes
Throughout her long career, O'Brien published more than 20 books, most of which were novels and story collections. The struggle of Irish women was one of her favorite themes, followed by other political and social critical dimensions.
In her 1994 novel "House of Splendid Isolation," the IRA played a decisive role, and in "Down by the River," she dealt with the passionate abortion debate in Ireland. In her 2019 novel "Girl," she finally addressed the victims of the islamist terrorist group Boko Haram.
O'Brien was born in County Clare, Ireland, in 1930, into a strict Catholic farming family. She attended a convent school and studied pharmacy in Dublin. Her passion for Leo Tolstoy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot awoke during this time. As a writer, she received several awards, including the PEN/Nabokov Award for her body of work.
Connection between Art and Politics
As a new single, O'Brien spent time with British Princess Margaret and Marianne Faithfull. She had an affair with actor Robert Mitchum. One evening, she was accompanied home by singer Paul McCartney, who allegedly wanted to meet her children.
At the White House in Washington, O'Brien dined with former First Lady Hillary Clinton and actor Jack Nicholson. She also built a friendship with former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. O'Brien wrote favorably about the leader of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams.
After gaining notoriety for her controversial debut novel "The Country Girls," Edna O'Brien continued to explore feminist and social critic themes in her subsequent works, including "House of Splendid Isolation" and "Down by the River." As a celebrated Irish author, she also forged connections with notable figures beyond the literary world, such as dining with former First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House and building a friendship with Jacqueline Kennedy.
Despite her success and influential career, O'Brien's personal life was also marked by tragedy, including the loss of her daughter, Sinead, in a car accident at the age of 27, and the death of her husband, Ernest Gebler, due to a heart attack. These death cases underscored the twin themes of love and loss that ran through her writing.
