Kate O'Brien

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Kate O'Brien's birthplace, Mulgrave Street, Limerick.

Kate O'Brien (born December 3, 1897 in Limerick , † August 13, 1974 in Canterbury , England) was an Irish writer .

life and work

O'Brien graduated from University College Dublin ; later she worked as a translator for the Manchester Guardian and as a nanny in Spain . After returning to England in 1923, she married a Dutch journalist. The marriage lasted less than a year; O'Brien did not marry a second time.

Their first publication was a play: "Distinguished Villa" was performed in 1926 and was relatively successful. A year later she published the piece "The Bridge".

O'Brien's first novel "Without My Cloak" was published in 1931 and won two literary prizes: the Hawthornden Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize . The book is known as the "Irish 'Forsythe Saga'". His theme also determines later O'Brien's novels: the struggle (especially of Irish women) for individual freedom and love against the restrictions of family, civil society and Catholicism .

Her other novels were "The Ante-Room" (1934), "Pray for the Wanderer" (1938) and "The Last of Summer" (1943). The novels "Mary Lavelle" (1936) and "The Land of Spices" (1942) were banned by the Irish state.

" That Lady " (1946), O'Brien's most successful novel, takes place in 16th century Spain. There was a Broadway version and a film (1955).

Upon her return to Ireland, Kate O'Brien wrote “The Flower of May” (1953) and “As Music and Splendor” (1958), which are set in 19th century Italy. Both novels were not very successful.

O'Brien also wrote Farewell Spain (1937). The Franco regime issued an entry ban for this political travel book . "English Diaries and Journals" (1943) and "My Ireland" (1962) followed.

She also wrote an autobiography entitled "Presentation Parlor" (1963) and the saints vita "Theresa von Avila" (1951).

In 1960 O'Brien had to sell her house in Ireland. She went back to England where she died in 1974.

O'Brien today

Ten years after her death, Kate O'Brien was "rediscovered" by feminist literary scholarship . Since 1984 there has been an annual " Kate O'Brien Weekend " in Limerick . A few years later some of her books appeared in the women's series " Virago Modern Classics ": "The Land of Spices", "Without My Cloak", "Mary Lavelle", "Farewell Spain", "The Last of Summer", " That Lady "and" The Ante-Room ".

Kate O'Brien is still widely recognized in the English-speaking world. "Mary Lavelle" was filmed in 1998 under the title "Talk of Angels"; like Kate O'Brien, her heroine Mary Lavelle works as a nanny for a Spanish family, the eldest daughter is played by Penélope Cruz . Other actors: Polly Walker , Vincent Perez , Frances McDormand , Franco Nero , Marisa Paredes , Leire Berrocal, Ariadna Gil .

bibliography

  • Haus am Fluss , OT: Without my Cloak (1931), trans. Eduard Thorsch, Hallwag Verlag 1945.
  • Mary Lavelle , OT: Mary Lavelle / Talk of Angels (1936), Hallwag Verlag.
    • New edition: Angel Talks , Translator Julia Riesz, Econ & List Verlag 2000, ISBN 3-612-27673-5 .
  • The glass tower , OT: Land of Spices (1941), transl. Theodora van Gils, Hallwag Verlag 1950.
  • Last summer days , OT: Last of Summer (1943), transl. Josef Ziwutschka, Paul Zsolnay Verlag 1954.
  • Jene Dame , OT: That Lady (1946), trans. Edmund Th. Knauer & WA Oerley, Paul Zsolnay Verlag 1950.
  • Therese of Avila: Portrait of a Saint , OT: Teresa of Avila (1951), transl. Elizabeth Gilbert.
  • Flower in May , OT: Flower in May (1953), transl. Magda Smetana, Paul Zsolnay Verlag 1955.

untranslated works

  • The Ante-Room , 1936
  • Farewell Spain , 1937
  • Pray for the Wanderer , 1938
  • As Music and Splendor , 1958
  • My Ireland , 1962
  • Presentation Parlor , 1963

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Brien, Kate
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 3, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH limerick
DATE OF DEATH August 13, 1974
Place of death Canterbury , England