O. R. Melling Explained

O. R. Melling
Birth Name:Geraldine Valerie Whelan
Birth Date:2 December 1952[1]
Birth Place:Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland[2]
Occupation:Novelist
Alma Mater:University of Toronto
Genre:Fantasy literature
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Spouses:-->
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Children:1

Geraldine Valerie Whelan (born 2 December 1952), known by the pen name O. R. Melling, is a writer of fantasy novels, mostly for children and young adults. Melling's novels focus on Irish and Celtic folklore. She writes reviews and film scripts as G. V. Whelan. She is sometimes published as Orla Melling.[3]

Early life and education

Melling was born in Ireland, but moved with her family to Toronto, Ontario when she was four.[2] Her father was a musician and she had nine brothers and sisters.[4]

Melling was educated at Loretto College School in Toronto.[5] She studied philosophy, Celtic Studies and mediaeval history at Trinity College, University of Toronto.[2]

Career

Melling has said that she started writing after dropping out of studying law: "Writing gave me the excuse I needed to leave my law studies".[3]

Melling has been awarded the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award for The Druid's Tale, and the Ruth Schwartz Award for Children's Literature.[6] The Druid's Tale has been translated into Czech and Japanese.[7]

Her influences include Patricia Lynch.[2] [7]

Melling has also worked as a teacher of Irish dance and been an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy.[8]

Critical response

The critic Ciara Ní Bhroin has described Melling's novels as "weaving ... modern Canadian protagonists into ancient myth". She identifies a "nostalgic, regressive strain" in The Druid's Tale, and writes that "Melling both confirms and denies traditional portrayals of Ireland and the feminine". Ní Bhroin positions Melling's work within Anglo-Irish literature.[2]

Personal life

Melling lives in Bray, County Wicklow. She has a daughter.[9]

Books

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. 2002. University of Toronto Press. 736. Internet Archive. Melling, O.R..
  2. Book: Ní Bhroin . Ciara . Discourses of Home and Homeland in Irish Children's Fiction 1990-2012 . 2022 . Palgrave Macmillan . Basingstoke . 978-3-030-73397-1 . 72 . Recovery of Origins: Myths of Homeland and Return in the Fantasy Fiction of O.R. Melling. 10.1007/978-3-030-73395-7_3. 236707691 . 1328020005.
  3. News: World travels led on to writing children's books . 3 July 2023 . Bray People . 12 June 1992.
  4. News: Whelan . G. V. . Salute to a popular Bray jazz musician . 3 July 2023 . Bray People . 19 October 1995.
  5. News: Alumna Spotlight, Geraldine Valerie Whelan, LCS 1970 . 3 July 2023 . Loretto Alumnae Association . 15 September 2020.
  6. Book: Ketterer, D. . Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy . Indiana University Press . 1992 . 978-0-253-33122-9 . 3 July 2023 . 65.
  7. News: Savage . Anne . Orla meets pupils of St. Pat's . 3 July 2023 . Bray People . 29 October 1998.
  8. News: Author Orla found her inspiration in Bray . 3 July 2023 . Bray People . 22 October 1993.
  9. News: Award-winning Orla writes about a world of fantasy . 3 July 2023 . Irish Independent . 13 July 2006.

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