Kate O'Brien
Kate O'Brien was a prominent Irish author and playwright, born on December 3, 1897, in Limerick, Ireland. Educated at a convent boarding school and University College, Dublin, she began her career in journalism before transitioning to drama, with her first play, *Distinguished Villa*, debuting in London in 1926. O'Brien later moved to Spain, where she wrote several novels that solidified her literary reputation, including her acclaimed first novel, *Without My Cloak*, which earned the Hawthornden Prize.
She is recognized for her psychological insights and modern narrative techniques, often exploring the complexities of emotional relationships and the struggles of the artistic spirit within the conservative context of Irish society. One notable work, *The Last of Summer*, illustrates these themes through the story of an actress grappling with familial ties and romantic entanglements. Throughout her career, O'Brien adeptly balanced her theatrical endeavors with her novel writing, adapting several of her narratives for the stage. Her work continues to resonate, particularly in discussions surrounding the dynamics of middle-class Irish life and the role of women in society.
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Subject Terms
Kate O'Brien
Irish novelist
- Born: December 3, 1897
- Birthplace: Limerick, Ireland
- Died: August 13, 1974
- Place of death: Canterbury, England
Biography
Kate O’Brien was born on December 3, 1897, at Limerick, the “Mellick” of her novels. She was educated at a convent boarding school and at University College, Dublin. Going to London as a young woman, she wrote for newspapers, and from journalism she turned to drama. Her first play, Distinguished Villa, was staged successfully in London in 1926; it was followed the next year by The Bridge. After moving to Spain, where she lived until the Falangist Civil War, O’Brien achieved her more substantial reputation as a novelist. Her first novel, Without My Cloak, established her literary reputation; it was awarded the Hawthornden Prize. She continued to write for the theater, however, and adapted to that medium three narratives of her own, including her historical novel, That Lady.
A psychological novelist, O’Brien was expert in her handling of modern techniques. Thematically, The Last of Summer is characteristic: The heroine, an actress reared in France, visits for the first time her father’s childhood home in Ireland, where she is forced to cope with the family of her domineering aunt. The tension between the girl’s warm, equable temperament and the neuroses of the cousin with whom she falls in love causes an inevitable exposure of divided emotional loyalties. O’Brien also frequently was concerned with failures of the artistic spirit to quicken sympathy in the conservative, Catholic Irish middle class.
Bibliography
Dalsimer, Adele. Kate O’Brien: A Critical Study. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1990. The first comprehensive study of Kate O’Brien’s entire literary output. The emphasis is on her works’ feminist dimension. Includes bibliography.
O’Brien, Kate. “The Art of Writing.” University Review 3 (1965): 6-14. Provides valuable insights into the author’s thoughts about writing.
Reynolds, Lorna. Kate O’Brien: A Literary Portrait. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble Books, 1987. This study is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the major fiction in chronological order and the second surveying O’Brien’s treatment of various major themes. Also contains a valuable treatment of O’Brien’s family background.
Walshe, Eibhear, ed. Ordinary People Dancing: Essays on Kate O’Brien. Cork, Ireland: Cork University Press, 1993. This selection of critical essays examines O’Brien’s heritage and feminism.