O. R. Melling

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O. R. Melling
BornGeraldine Valerie Whelan [1]
(1952-12-02) 2 December 1952 (age 72) [1]
Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland [2]
OccupationNovelist
Alma mater Trinity College, Toronto
Genre Fantasy literature
Notable awards
Children1
Website
ormelling.com

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. [3] She is sometimes published as Orla Melling. [4]

Contents

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. [5]

Melling was educated at Loretto College School in Toronto. [6] 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". [4]

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. [7] [3] The Druid's Tale has been translated into Czech and Japanese. [8]

Her influences include Patricia Lynch. [2] [8]

Melling has also worked as a teacher of Irish dance and been an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy. [9]

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. [3]

Books

References

  1. 1 2 "Melling, O.R.". Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press. 2002. p. 736 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ní Bhroin, Ciara (2022). "Recovery of Origins: Myths of Homeland and Return in the Fantasy Fiction of O.R. Melling". Discourses of Home and Homeland in Irish Children's Fiction 1990-2012. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 72. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73395-7_3. ISBN   978-3-030-73397-1. OCLC   1328020005. S2CID   236707691.
  3. 1 2 3 "Award-winning Orla writes about a world of fantasy". Irish Independent. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 "World travels led on to writing children's books". Bray People. 12 June 1992. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Whelan, G. V. (19 October 1995). "Salute to a popular Bray jazz musician". Bray People. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Alumna Spotlight, Geraldine Valerie Whelan, LCS 1970". Loretto Alumnae Association. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. ↑ Ketterer, D. (1992). Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy. Indiana University Press. p. 65. ISBN   978-0-253-33122-9 . Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 Savage, Anne (29 October 1998). "Orla meets pupils of St. Pat's". Bray People. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  9. ↑ "Author Orla found her inspiration in Bray". Bray People. 22 October 1993. Retrieved 3 July 2023.


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