Irish writer Edna O’Brien, who explored the complexities and contradictions of women’s lives in a literary career spanning more than half a century, has died at the age of 93 after a long illness, her agent has announced, British media reported.
In a series of novels, beginning with The Country Girls, which was initially banned in Ireland but became hugely popular abroad, O’Brien gave voice to women struggling against the oppressive and hypocritical expectations of rural life. Her focus broadened in later works such as House of Splendid Isolation and The Little Red Chairs, but she always retained the fierce intelligence and daring that led Philip Roth to call her “the most gifted woman now writing fiction in the English language,” writes The Guardian.
In tribute to the writer, her publisher, Faber, declared her “one of the greatest writers of our time.” She revolutionized Irish literature, portraying the lives of women and the complexity of the human condition in free and luminous prose that had a profound influence on many writers who followed her.
“Edna constantly sought to break new artistic ground, to write honestly, from a place of deep feeling. The vibrancy of her prose was a mirror of her will to live: she was the best of company, and Edna was kind, generous, mischievous, and courageous. She is a dear friend to all of us and will be greatly missed,” Faber added. “It is a great honor for Faber to publish her, and her bold and brilliant work will live on.”
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