Edna O'Brien, Prolific and Provocative Irish Literary Giant, Dies at 93

Her writing career began with the publication, in 1960, of The Country Girls, a novel about the sexual awakening of two young women who moved from County Clare in rural Ireland to Dublin-much like O'Brien had done herself. The Country Girls was banned by the Irish state censor, and the parish priest in O'Brien's hometown of Tuamgraney is reputed to have burned the book. It became an international bestseller.