Molly Keane

Molly Keane, born as Mary Nesta Skrine on July 20, 1904, in Ryston Cottage, Newbridge, was a bestselling literary fiction author from Ireland. She was the daughter of Moira O’Neill, a well-known poet, and a father who was an avid hunter and horseman. Keane's childhood was spent in Ballyranking House in Bunclody, where she was educated at home by governesses and her mother. Her father's detachment and lack of involvement in her upbringing made her choose a different path than her siblings, who went to boarding schools in England.

Keane's early education and upbringing in Ireland, as opposed to her siblings who were sent to England for schooling, shaped her unique perspective and voice in her writing. Her father's passion for hunting and horses, as well as her mother's influence as a poet, can be seen in her works as recurring themes and motifs. Keane's use of her married name for her later novels, such as "Good Behaviour" and "Time After Time," brought her critical acclaim and recognition in the literary world. These novels, among others, were also adapted for television, further solidifying her status as a prominent author in Irish literature.

Molly Keane's personal life was marked by both joy and sorrow. She married Bobby Keane, a member of a Waterford squirearchical family in 1938, and had two daughters. However, her husband's sudden death in 1946 left her a widow at a young age. Following the failure of a play, she published nothing for twenty years, choosing to withdraw from the public eye. In 1981, her novel "Good Behaviour" was published under her own name, bringing her a new wave of recognition and acclaim. She spent her later years in Ardmore, County Waterford, with her two daughters, until her death in 1996. Molly Keane's legacy as a prominent Irish author continues to be celebrated and remembered in the literary world.