Alice Taylor is an Irish author, best known for her novels that explore life in rural settings. She currently resides in the village of Innishannon, located in County Cork. Her home is attached to the local supermarket and post office, where her eldest son now takes care of its operations, allowing her to focus more on her writing.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. Upon getting married, she moved to Innishannon and ran a guesthouse. She later took over the management of the supermarket and post office. Taylor and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984, she edited and published the first issue of Candlelight, a local magazine that has since been published annually. Additionally, she published an illustrated collection of her own verse in 1986.
Taylor's first major success came with the publication of "To School Through the Fields" in 1988, which quickly became the biggest-selling book ever published in Ireland. The book's success led to a series of signing sessions, talks, and readings throughout Ireland. She has since appeared on numerous radio programs, including "Woman's Hour," "Midweek," and "The Gloria Hunniford Show." Taylor has also been the subject of major profiles in the Observer and the Mail on Sunday.
Following the success of "To School Through the Fields," Taylor published several sequels, including "Quench the Lamp," "The Village," "Country Days," and "The Night Before Christmas." These books have been translated and sold internationally. In 1997, Taylor published her first novel, "The Woman of the House," which became an immediate bestseller in Ireland. She has continued to write fiction, non-fiction, and poetry since then, establishing herself as one of Ireland's most popular authors.