Jennifer Johnston
Born (1930-01-12) 12 January 1930 (age 94)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationNovelist
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
Relatives

Jennifer Johnston (born 12 January 1930) is an Irish novelist. She has won a number of awards, including the Whitbread Book Award for The Old Jest in 1979 and a Lifetime Achievement from the Irish Book Awards (2012). The Old Jest, a novel about the Irish War of Independence, was later made into a film called The Dawning, starring Anthony Hopkins, produced by Sarah Lawson and directed by Robert Knights.[1]

Biography

She was born in Dublin to Irish actress and director Shelah Richards and Irish playwright Denis Johnston.[2] A cousin of actress and film star Geraldine Fitzgerald, via Fitzgerald's mother, Edith (née Richards), Jennifer Johnston was educated at Trinity College Dublin.[3] For decades, she lived in Derry, and currently lives near Dublin.[4] Other cousins include the actresses Tara Fitzgerald and Susan Fitzgerald.[5][6]

Johnston was born into the Church of Ireland and many of her novels deal with the fading of the Protestant Anglo-Irish ascendancy in the 20th century. She married a fellow student at Trinity College, Ian Smyth, in 1951.[7] Johnston is a member of Aosdána.[8]

Awards and honours

List of works

Novels
Plays

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jennifer Johnston - Literature". Literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  2. ^ "A shaper of sophisticated stories". Irishtimes.com. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  3. ^ Rosie Cowan (11 February 2004). "Rosie Cowan on Jennifer Johnston". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Martina Devlin interviews Jennifer Johnston". Libranwriter.wordpress.com. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ^ Michael Coveney, "Susan FitzGerald obituary", The Guardian, 10 September 2013.
  6. ^ Maureen Paton, "Tara Fitzgerald: Naked ambition" (profile), The Independent, 2 May 2003.
  7. ^ Gonzalez, Alexander G.; Nelson, Emmanuel Sampath; Gonzalez, Alexander G. (12 January 1930). Modern Irish Writers: A Bio-critical Sourcebook - Alexander G. Gonzalez. ISBN 9780313295577. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Members | Aosdana". Aosdana.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  9. ^ Rosita Boland (23 November 2012). "Banville wins novel of year at awards". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.

External links

Works by Jennifer Johnston
Authority control databases
Categories