Kate O'Brien (1) (1897–1974)
Author of The Land of Spices
For other authors named Kate O'Brien, see the disambiguation page.
Works by Kate O'Brien
Associated Works
Dublin and Cork: A Book of Photographs — Introduction — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- O'Brien, Kate
- Legal name
- O'Brien, Kathleen Mary Louise
- Birthdate
- 1897-12-03
- Date of death
- 1974-08-13
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Laurel Hill Convent, Limerick
University College Dublin (1919) - Occupations
- journalist
teacher
playwright
novelist
screenwriter
essayist (show all 8)
travel writer
biographer - Organizations
- Manchester Guardian
- Short biography
- Kate O'Brien was born in Limerick, Ireland. When she was five years old, her mother died, and she was sent to board at a convent school. She studied English and French at University College, Dublin, and after graduation moved to London. She worked as a governess in Spain, where she began to write, and then returned to England and got a job as a journalist for the Manchester Guardian. With the success of her 1926 play Distinguished Villa, she became a full-time writer. Her first novel, Without My Cloak (1931), won both the Hawthornden and James Tait Black prizes. The Ante-Room (1934) and The Land of Spices (1941), which explored themes of female sexuality, were banned in the Irish Free State. Her books Pray for the Wanderer (1938) and The Last of Summer (1943) criticized what she saw as the smug puritanism of her native country. Her most successful novel was the anti-fascist That Lady (1946). It was adapted as a Broadway play in 1949 and as a film in 1955. She returned to live in Ireland in 1950 but went back to England in 1965. In addition to novels and plays, she wrote film scripts, short stories, essays, two biographies, and very personal travelogues of Ireland and Spain.
- Nationality
- Ireland
- Birthplace
- Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland
- Places of residence
- Limerick, Ireland
London, England, UK
Bilbao, Spain
Roundstone, County Galway, Ireland
Kent, England - Place of death
- Canterbury, Kent, England, UK
- Burial location
- Faversham Cemetery, Faversham, Kent, England, UK
Members
Reviews
I can see why O' Brien's writing was controversial in the Ireland of the 1930s. Although this isn't the book that caused any real controversy, so far as I know (that was reserved for the omglesbians), I can still see why her writing caused waves at the time. Catholicism, and the peculiarly Irish variety of it, permeates the novel heavily. O' Brien doesn't examine it in an ironic manner, though, but takes the whole thing very seriously and examines it with great understanding. In a way, this show more makes it all the more damning, because there is a sense of it being the insider's perspective, of this guilt and responsibility and pressure being a true and real weight.
The characters are delineated realistically and with depth, for the most part, though there is perhaps too much maudlin Victorian sentimentality in it for my liking, even though it was set in the 1880s. (I always have a hard time thinking that anyone has ever said "Ah! My darling! My own!" without having their tongue firmly in their cheek). There was a very suffocating, claustrophobic atmosphere to the book which worked very well in the context of both the events of the book, and its time and place. I think however that it succeeds a little too well in that regard, and is almost too much of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century for me to feel much of a point of connection with the book. Still an interesting relic of its era, but not one I see myself rereading much. show less
The characters are delineated realistically and with depth, for the most part, though there is perhaps too much maudlin Victorian sentimentality in it for my liking, even though it was set in the 1880s. (I always have a hard time thinking that anyone has ever said "Ah! My darling! My own!" without having their tongue firmly in their cheek). There was a very suffocating, claustrophobic atmosphere to the book which worked very well in the context of both the events of the book, and its time and place. I think however that it succeeds a little too well in that regard, and is almost too much of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century for me to feel much of a point of connection with the book. Still an interesting relic of its era, but not one I see myself rereading much. show less
In the summer of 1939, Angèle Maury, a young French actress, is traveling through Ireland and makes a spontaneous decision to visit the house where her father grew up, now occupied by relatives she has never met. Little does she know the impact her visit will have. As stated in Eavan Boland’s introduction:
She will remind them, for good and ill, that the past is inescapable. She will bring into their consciousness the names of threatened cities and wasted loves. She will change everything show more before she leaves.
Angèle’s appearance on the doorstep is a complete surprise to her Aunt Hannah and adult cousins Tom, Martin, and Jo. Hannah is distant and brusque at first; the cousins are more welcoming. As Kate O’Brien slowly teases out the details, it becomes clear Hannah has kept a number of secrets over the years, including the existence of a brother-in-law who left home, married a French woman, and never returned. Angèle is a fly in Hannah’s ointment to say the least, but she will never show it, remaining at all times the gracious hostess. That is, until Angèle’s relationships with her children pose a real threat to Hannah’s carefully crafted existence. Here, once again, O’Brien is master of the slow reveal. Not surprisingly, I was on Angèle’s side all the way, and sympathetic to the three cousins whose lives had been so craftily manipulated for their mother’s benefit.
The onset of World War II brings this brilliant character study to a close, leaving many unanswered questions about the family’s future. show less
She will remind them, for good and ill, that the past is inescapable. She will bring into their consciousness the names of threatened cities and wasted loves. She will change everything show more before she leaves.
Angèle’s appearance on the doorstep is a complete surprise to her Aunt Hannah and adult cousins Tom, Martin, and Jo. Hannah is distant and brusque at first; the cousins are more welcoming. As Kate O’Brien slowly teases out the details, it becomes clear Hannah has kept a number of secrets over the years, including the existence of a brother-in-law who left home, married a French woman, and never returned. Angèle is a fly in Hannah’s ointment to say the least, but she will never show it, remaining at all times the gracious hostess. That is, until Angèle’s relationships with her children pose a real threat to Hannah’s carefully crafted existence. Here, once again, O’Brien is master of the slow reveal. Not surprisingly, I was on Angèle’s side all the way, and sympathetic to the three cousins whose lives had been so craftily manipulated for their mother’s benefit.
The onset of World War II brings this brilliant character study to a close, leaving many unanswered questions about the family’s future. show less
This was a pleasant surprise. I started collecting books from a publisher called Virago Modern Classics who publish underappreciated books written by women. I bought this book not knowing anything about it except that it was a Virago with the classic green cover. When I read the book description, I was skeptical. Kate O'Brien was an Irish author in the mid 1900s and this book takes place in a convent. It explores the lives of two different people, the Reverend Mother, Helen, and Anna, a show more young girl growing up as a student at the convent school. I don't have a whole lot of interest in nuns or Catholicism so I wasn't sure this would be the book for me. Actually, though, this book explored the lives of these two, their troubled home lives, the conflicts between Irish and English nuns, politics of the church, and death with beautiful language and subtlety.
As a side note, this edition has a few long passages written in`French with no translation provided. I found that my limited high school French plus the context of the book were enough for me to understand the content, but you'd need some French or the patience to do a little translating for those passages. show less
As a side note, this edition has a few long passages written in`French with no translation provided. I found that my limited high school French plus the context of the book were enough for me to understand the content, but you'd need some French or the patience to do a little translating for those passages. show less
Having opened her short review of English diarists by categorising them as bores, O'Brien proves to be a lively guide to those of us who omit no detail of an anecdote, commenting that those qualities which in person are deadly dull as we have no polite escape, in written form are fascinating as we have the choice of reprieve and of skipping over.
The only diarist I'm inclined to explore further is 19th century governess Ellen Weeton, though her journals look hard to find and a bit pricey if show more located. Still, another author to hopefully chance upon when browsing 🙂
As for O'Brien, I really liked her voice and she's also now on my radar.
Overall, a satisfying and decorative little book 🩷📖🩷 show less
The only diarist I'm inclined to explore further is 19th century governess Ellen Weeton, though her journals look hard to find and a bit pricey if show more located. Still, another author to hopefully chance upon when browsing 🙂
As for O'Brien, I really liked her voice and she's also now on my radar.
Overall, a satisfying and decorative little book 🩷📖🩷 show less
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