Title
Kavanagh, Julia
Description
Bibliographic Dictionary Entry
Date
1824-1877
Creator
O'Toole, Tina
Source
Munster Women Writers Project, University College Cork
Publisher
Women in Irish Society Project, University College Cork
Rights
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Coverage
Munster, Ireland, 1800-2000
Format
Text
Language
en
Type
Text
Subject
Women, Writers, Munster
Contributor
O'Toole, Tina
Birth Date
1824
Death Date
1877
Birthplace
Thurles, Co Tipperary
Biographical Text
Born in Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Kavanagh moved with her family to France when she was quite young,. Her father, Morgan Kavanagh, was a poet and philologist. The insight she gained into French life and character was faithfully portrayed in many of her works.
She moved to live in London in 1844 at the age of 20, where her writing career began with a series of essays for periodicals of the day. Madeleine (1848), the story of a peasant girl of Auvergne, established her reputation, later built-on by her historical and biographical works, such as: Women in France during the Eighteenth Century (1850), and French Women of Letters (1862). Consisting of about twenty novels, her work had a wide circulation in the USA and England, as well as in France. Tynan says of her literary reputation: "All Miss Kavanagh's books have passed through several editions, and most of them have been published in America where she was a favourite".
Her best-known works are Nathalie (1850), described by Tynan as "one of the best stories of French life probably ever written by an English hand", Madeleine, Daisy Burns (1853), and Rachel Gray (1856). In 1853, she toured the Continent, revisiting France and travelling through Switzerland and Italy, after which she wrote A Summer and Winter in Two Sicilies (1858). On the whole she led a quiet life, caring for her invalid mother. Living in Paris at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, she moved to Rouen, and then to Nice, where she died aged fifty-four. Her final collection of short stories, Forget-Me-Nots (1878) appeared posthumously.
She moved to live in London in 1844 at the age of 20, where her writing career began with a series of essays for periodicals of the day. Madeleine (1848), the story of a peasant girl of Auvergne, established her reputation, later built-on by her historical and biographical works, such as: Women in France during the Eighteenth Century (1850), and French Women of Letters (1862). Consisting of about twenty novels, her work had a wide circulation in the USA and England, as well as in France. Tynan says of her literary reputation: "All Miss Kavanagh's books have passed through several editions, and most of them have been published in America where she was a favourite".
Her best-known works are Nathalie (1850), described by Tynan as "one of the best stories of French life probably ever written by an English hand", Madeleine, Daisy Burns (1853), and Rachel Gray (1856). In 1853, she toured the Continent, revisiting France and travelling through Switzerland and Italy, after which she wrote A Summer and Winter in Two Sicilies (1858). On the whole she led a quiet life, caring for her invalid mother. Living in Paris at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, she moved to Rouen, and then to Nice, where she died aged fifty-four. Her final collection of short stories, Forget-Me-Nots (1878) appeared posthumously.
Writing Genre
Novels
Biographies
Short Stories