O._R._Melling

O. R. Melling

O. R. Melling

Irish-Canadian writer (born 1952)

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]

Quick Facts Born, Occupation ...

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

  • Melling, O.R. (1983). The Druid's Tune. Amulet. ISBN 9780143016748.
  • — (1986). The Singing Stone. Amulet. ISBN 9780143016670.
  • — (1989). Falling Out of Time. Ontario: Viking, Markham. ISBN 9780670814213.
  • The Chronicles of Faerie series (1993–2003)
  • — (1996). My Blue Country. Toronto: CNIB. ISBN 9780616753682.
  • — (2013). People of the Great Journey. Hay House. ISBN 9781781802076.

References

  1. [1]
    "Melling, O.R.". Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press. 2002. p. 736 – via Internet Archive.
  2. [2]
    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. [3]
    "Award-winning Orla writes about a world of fantasy". Irish Independent. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. [4]
    "World travels led on to writing children's books". Bray People. 12 June 1992. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  5. [5]
    Whelan, G. V. (19 October 1995). "Salute to a popular Bray jazz musician". Bray People. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Alumna Spotlight, Geraldine Valerie Whelan, LCS 1970". Loretto Alumnae Association. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  7. [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. [8]
    Savage, Anne (29 October 1998). "Orla meets pupils of St. Pat's". Bray People. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  9. [9]
    "Author Orla found her inspiration in Bray". Bray People. 22 October 1993. Retrieved 3 July 2023.


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