{"title":"Edna O'Brien","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEdna O'Brien\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a compelling exploration of human emotions and relationships, weaving narratives that capture both the beauty and complexity of life. Her works, ranging from intimate memoirs to evocative fiction, often portray personal journeys marked by resilience and self-discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect richly drawn characters and a lyrical prose style that illuminates themes of love, isolation, and identity. Whether through heartfelt storytelling or reflective biography, O'Brien’s books invite thoughtful reflection and heartfelt connection.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"girl-by-edna-obrien-9780571341184","title":"Girl","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLonglisted for the 2020 Women's Prize for Fiction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLonglisted for the 2020 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTimes\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eI was a girl once, but not any more . . .\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA young woman, barely more than a girl herself, must learn to survive with a child of her own, in a world which seems entirely consumed by madness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs she navigates a landscape of terrors and trials, can she find a place of safety within a society blinkered by mistrust and denial?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Astonishing.' - \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Raw and transfixing.' - \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Devastating and moving.' - \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46530713583852,"sku":"9780571341184","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11087953482391.jpg?v=1749263766"},{"product_id":"the-little-red-chairs-by-edna-obrien-9780571316311","title":"The Little Red Chairs","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a wanted war criminal from the Balkans, masquerading as a faith healer, settles in a small west coast Irish village, the community are in thrall. One woman, Fidelma McBride, falls under his spell, and in this astonishing novel, Edna O'Brien charts the consequences of that fatal attraction.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Little Red Chairs\u003c\/em\u003e is a story about love, the artifice of evil, and the terrible necessity of accountability in our shattered, damaged world. A narrative which dares to travel deep into the darkness has produced a book of enormous emotional intelligence and courage. Written with a fierce lyricism and sensibility, \u003cem\u003eThe Little Red Chairs\u003c\/em\u003e dares to suggest there is a way back to redemption and hope when great evil is done.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlmost six decades on from her debut, Edna O'Brien has produced what may be her masterpiece in the novel form.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46533232558316,"sku":"9780571316311","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10839223482391.jpg?v=1749378482"},{"product_id":"august-is-a-wicked-month-by-edna-obrien-9780571330553","title":"August is a Wicked Month","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBanned in several countries upon first publication, \u003cem\u003eAugust is a Wicked Month\u003c\/em\u003e is a simmering tale of a woman rediscovering herself on the French Riviera.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSeparated from her husband and with her young son away, Ellen leaves behind the loneliness of London for a new life of excitement and sexual freedom. But she soon discovers that independence isn't quite so straightforward.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46542621475052,"sku":"9780571330553","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10981643482391.jpg?v=1749713199"},{"product_id":"paradise-by-edna-obrien-9780571351763","title":"Paradise","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn unnamed protagonist is on holiday with her new, much-married lover, in the company of the monstrously rich.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHow long would she last? It would be uppermost in all their minds.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEach day, while the others are out at sea, she is taught to swim. Eventually, she will be expected to perform. The pressure mounts; it is only a matter of time before she snaps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEdna O'Brien crafts a quietly horrifying scene of eroticism and insecurity, and makes one woman's near-fatal discomfort stand for society's larger trap.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46550381854956,"sku":"9780571351763","price":16.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11193743482391.jpg?v=1749979294"},{"product_id":"the-country-girls-trilogy-by-edna-obrien-9780571352906","title":"The Country Girls Trilogy","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEdna O'Brien's first novel \u003cem\u003eThe Country Girls\u003c\/em\u003e and its sequels \u003cem\u003eThe Lonely Girl\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eGirls in their Married Bliss\u003c\/em\u003e changed the temperature of Irish literature in the 1960s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe characters of Kate Brady and her friend Baba Brennan have inspired generation after generation of readers and writers, as we see them struggling against the confines of a rural Irish convent school; revelling in the bright lights of Dublin; and weathering the unexpected challenges of married life in London.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe passion, artistry, and courage of Edna O'Brien's vision in these novels—tender portraits of innocence and youth, love and passion, dreams and reality—resonate into the twenty-first century, and are illuminated by Eimear McBride's new foreword.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46716009054444,"sku":"9780571352906","price":36.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/11205173482391.jpg?v=1754418007"},{"product_id":"country-girl-by-edna-obrien-9780571269440","title":"Country Girl","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI thought of life's many bounties, to have known the extremities of joy and sorrow, love, crossed love and unrequited love, success and failure, fame and slaughter, to have read in the newspapers that as a writer I was past my sell-by date, yet regardless, to go on writing and reading, to be lucky enough to live in these two intensities that have buttressed my whole life.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBorn in Ireland in 1930 and driven into exile after publication of her controversial first novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Country Girls\u003c\/em\u003e, O'Brien has created a body of work which bears comparison with the very best writers of the twentieth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eCountry Girl\u003c\/em\u003e we come face to face with literary life of high drama and contemplation. And along the way there are encounters with Hollywood giants, pop stars and literary titans — all of whom lend this life, so gorgeously, sometimes painfully remembered here, a terrible poignancy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn prose which sparkles with the effortless gifts of a master in her ninth decade, Edna O'Brien has recast her life with the imaginative insight of a poet. It is a book of unfathomable depths and honesty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46804028129516,"sku":"9780571269440","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10370513482391.jpg?v=1757411863"},{"product_id":"tales-for-the-telling-by-edna-obrien-9781786750327","title":"Tales for the Telling","description":"The Irish are renowned tellers of tales and these twelve enchanting stories of ancient magic, daring deeds, dashing heroes and mythical creatures sparkle with the wit, nonsense and naughtiness of Edna O'Brien's beautifully crafted storytelling.  Tales for the Telling features traditional Irish folk and fairy tales, including 'The Magic Apples' 'The Swan Bride', 'Paddy the Piper' and 'Two Giants.' In 'Two Giants', Irish giant Finn, no longer in the first flush of youth, is challenged to do battle against Scottish giant McConigle, who aims to take over Finn's territory. The titanic clash is averted when Finn's clever wife, Oonagh manages to fool McConigle into thinking that Finn is twice the size he really is, and three times as strong. McConigle then has second thoughts about tackling Finn. This story illustrates the way that O'Brien's retelling of tales from her native land will delight and enthrall the whole family either as bed-time reading or as a rainy day treat.  O'Brien's giants, leprechauns, princesses and sorcerers are all brought beautifully to life by celebrated illustrator Michael Foreman, whose vigorous, colourful art heightens the drama of the stories while also adding to the magic and charm of this outstanding collection.  AGES: 8 plus  AUTHOR: Edna O'Brien is an Irish playwright, short story writer, novelist and poet. She is the author of The Country Girls, The Light of Evening, Casualties of Peace and Byron in Love, among many other works. She was described by Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland, as 'one of the great creative writers of her generation' and she has won numerous awards including the James Joyce Ulysses Medal, the Irish PEN Award and the prestigious Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. Born in County Clare, O'Brien now lives in London.","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46996247740652,"sku":"9781786750327","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/cd9cd5dee669caf480cba72dc50ddecb.jpg?v=1763184479"},{"product_id":"house-of-splendid-isolation-by-edna-obrien-9780571397556","title":"House of Splendid Isolation","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eHistory is everywhere. It seeps into the soil, the sub-soil. Like rain, or hail, or snow, or blood.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJosie O'Grady is an elderly woman, living alone in her dilapidated big house on the outskirts of a rural Irish village. Then one day her bedroom door swings open to reveal McGreevy, an IRA terrorist on a bloody crusade, who has chosen her isolated house for sanctuary.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs days pass, these two outsiders develop a grudging respect for each other, which grows into affection and friendship, but the police net is closing in and, with dawning horror, Josie starts to suspect that McGreevy is not only using her house as a refuge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBased on interviews with the IRA leader Dominic McGlinchy in Portlaoise Prison and published four years before the Good Friday Agreement, this thrilling, political, poetic novel is a portrait of the state of the Irish nation at the height of the Troubles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47012599005420,"sku":"9780571397556","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/b928d173064bc3529321f9343e9c0dd1.jpg?v=1763510112"},{"product_id":"the-light-of-evening-by-edna-obrien-9780571397518","title":"The Light of Evening","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSuch is the wrath of the mothers, such is the cry of the mothers, such is the lamentation of the mothers.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAgeing Dilly Macready lies in her hospital bed in Dublin, awaiting a final visit from her estranged daughter, Eleanora, an author who fled rural Ireland years before, after her sensual first novel caused a local scandal. Through memories and journals, both mother and daughter find themselves reliving the strains, disagreements, expectations, and disappointments of their complicated relationship, ultimately finding that their enduring connection remains powerful and true.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a late novel by O'Brien at the height of her powers, in which she delves deep into the beautiful but intense relationship that exists between mothers and daughters.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47012669685996,"sku":"9780571397518","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/6f71e7e609cd688a46f9e8d0e4450ece.jpg?v=1763509975"},{"product_id":"saints-and-sinners-by-edna-obrien-9780571270323","title":"Saints and Sinners","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA woman walks the streets of Manhattan and contemplates with exquisite longing the precarious affair she has embarked on, amidst the grandeur and cacophony of the cityscape; a young Irish girl and her mother are thrilled to be invited to visit the glamorous Coughlan's but find—for all the promise of their green gorgette, silver shoes and fancy dinner parties—they leave disappointed; an Irishman in north London retraces his life as a young lad with his mates digging the streets and dreaming of the apocryphal gold, an outsider both in Ireland and England, yet he carries the lodestar of his native land.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA collection characterised by all of Edna O'Brien's trademark lyricism, powerful evocations of place and a glorious and often heart-breaking grasp of people and their desires and contradictions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Gardners Books Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47232067698924,"sku":"9780571270323","price":32.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10379343482391.jpg?v=1768882164"},{"product_id":"the-country-girls-by-edna-obrien-9780571396665","title":"The Country Girls","description":"\u003ci\u003e'Look Caithleen, will you give up the nonsense? We're eighteen and we're bored to death.' Baba lit a cigarette and puffed vigorously. She went on 'We want to live. Drink gin. Squeeze into the front of big cars and drive up outside big hotels. We want to go places.'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCaithleen is a romantic: she dreams of finding a handsome man who will sweep her away and look after her. Her friend Baba thinks this makes her a right-looking eejit. What she wants is money and glamour. Life. As much of it as she can get. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut neither love nor excitement seem possible in their small village, or their convent school. And when they finally make it to Dublin, they find that home isn't as easy to escape as they thought.","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47288874565868,"sku":"9780571396665","price":29.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/f0760dbb3a7930e107945a9739ff9ed9.jpg?v=1770603685"},{"product_id":"down-by-the-river-by-edna-obrien-9780571397532","title":"Down By The River","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe road silent, somnolent yet with a speech of its own, speaking back to them, father and child, through trappings of sun and fretted verdure, speaking of the old mutinies and a fresh crime mounting in the blood.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe local community is shocked when a young teenager, Mary, attempts to get an illegal abortion, especially when they discover that she has been raped by her father. O'Brien charts Mary's emotional and psychological trauma, as her story is dragged first into the public realm and then into the law courts, with her power of choice usurped by militant factions on all sides.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA haunting novel based on real events.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47495649100012,"sku":"9780571397532","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780571397532-down-by-the-river.jpg?v=1775794954"},{"product_id":"in-the-forest-by-edna-obrien-9780571397495","title":"In the Forest","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe spruces are so close together that the barks are a sable-brown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMichael O'Kane is known as the 'Kinderschrek', the 'child scarer'. He haunts Cloosh Wood in western Ireland. As a boy, he lost his mother, and by the age of ten, he was in prison. Now he seeks sacrificial victims to satisfy his delusional fantasies: a beautiful young mother, her infant son, and a trusting priest, who are enticed into the forest.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eInspired by a real triple homicide, this novel is a 'tour de force of finely restrained fury' (\u003cem\u003eNewsday\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47496147566828,"sku":"9780571397495","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780571397495-in-the-forest.jpg?v=1775796271"},{"product_id":"the-country-girls-by-edna-obrien-9780571399291","title":"The Country Girls","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe taboo-breaking, the fabulous prose—there's no one like Edna O'Brien.\u003c\/strong\u003e Anne Enright  \u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eSurprising and beautiful and courageous . . . A beacon.\u003c\/strong\u003e Megan Nolan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe want to live. Drink gin. Squeeze into the front of big cars and drive up outside big hotels. We want to go places.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCaithleen is a romantic: she dreams of finding a handsome man who will sweep her away and look after her. Her friend Baba thinks this makes her a right-looking eejit. What she wants is money and glamour. Life. As much of it as she can get.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut neither love nor excitement seem possible in their small village, or their convent school. And when they finally make it to Dublin, they find that home isn't as easy to escape as they thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the first novel in Edna O'Brien's trilogy which revolutionised Irish literature in the 1960s. Banned by the authorities as 'indecent' and burned by the clergy, they were notorious for their frank portrayal of sexual desire: but scandal turned to fame, and made this glorious coming-of-age tale an instant classic that inspires and delights readers to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48022076752108,"sku":"9780571399291","price":27.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/e49fa6587b5bf95f9bc4772d38b01d48_d1d6bb6c-4615-4d7e-ba44-bcfcf3b9fec5.jpg?v=1785971478"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/edna-obrien.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}