Edna O'Brien

Josephine Edna O'Brien DBE (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Her career began in 1960 and she retired in 2019.

O'Brien was known for her written works The Country Girls, Girl with Green Eyes, Girls in Their Married Bliss, August Is a Wicked Month, Casualties of Peace, House of Splendid Isolation, Down by the River, Wild Decembers, In the Forest, The Light of Evening, Saints and Sinners, Country Girl and The Little Red Chairs.

Philip Roth once called her the "the most gifted woman now writing in English".^[1] Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson called her "one of the great creative writers of her generation".^[2]

O'Brien was born in Tuamgraney, County Clare, Irish Free State. O'Brien was married to Ernest Gébler from 1954 until they divorced in 1964. They had two children.

Edna O'Brien died in London, England, on 27 July 2024 from a long-illness at the age of 93.^[3][4][5]