Jennifer Johnston (novelist)

Jennifer Johnston
BornJennifer Prudence Johnston
(1930-01-12)12 January 1930[1]
Dublin, Ireland
Died25 February 2025(2025-02-25) (aged 95)
Dún Laoghaire, Ireland
OccupationNovelist
Alma materTrinity College Dublin
SpouseIan Smyth (m. 1951-?); 4 children
David Gilliland (his death)
Relatives

Jennifer Prudence Johnston[2] (12 January 1930 – 25 February 2025) was an Irish novelist. She 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.[3]

Life and career

Johnston was born in Dublin on 12 January 1930, to Irish actress and director Shelah Richards and Irish playwright Denis Johnston.[4] A cousin of actress and film star Geraldine Fitzgerald, via Fitzgerald's mother, Edith (née Richards), Jennifer was educated at Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1965 with a degree in ancient and modern literature.[5][6] She 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 was a member of Aosdána.[7]

Awards and honours

Personal life

Johnston was married twice. In 1951 she married a fellow student at Trinity College, Ian Smyth.[13] Their four children are Patrick Smyth,[14] Sarah, Lucy, and Malachy. After marrying her second husband, David Gilliland, she lived in Derry.[15] After being widowed, she moved back to Dublin.[16] Her cousins included the actresses Susan Fitzgerald[17] and Tara Fitzgerald.[18]

Johnston suffered from dementia in later years. She died at a nursing home in Dún Laoghaire, on 25 February 2025, at the age of 95.[19] Among the tributes paid to her was one by Irish President Michael D Higgins who recalled that "throughout her many novels and plays, provided a deep and meaningful examination of the nature and limitations of identity, family and personal connections throughout the tumultuous events of 20th century Irish life".[1]

List of works

Novels
  • The Captains and the Kings (1972),[4] winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award
  • The Gates (1973)[4]
  • How Many Miles to Babylon? (1974)[4]
  • Shadows on Our Skin (1977), shortlisted for the Booker Prize[1]
  • The Old Jest (1979), winner of a Whitbread Book Award for 1979[1]
  • The Christmas Tree (1981)[1]
  • The Railway Station Man (1984)[1]
  • Fool's Sanctuary. London: Hamilton. 1987. ISBN 978-0-241-12035-4.
  • The Invisible Worm (1991)[5]
  • The Illusionist (1995)[4]
  • Three Monologues: "Twinkletoes", "Mustn't Forget High Noon", "Christine" (1995)
  • Finbar's Hotel, edited by Dermot Bolger (1997) (Contributor)
  • Two Moons. London: Review. 1998. ISBN 978-0-7472-2136-4.[4]
  • The Essential Jennifer Johnston (1999) (contains The Captains and the Kings, The Railway Station Man, and Fool's Sanctuary)
  • Great Irish Stories of Murder and Mystery (2000) (Contributor)
  • The Gingerbread Woman. London: Review. 2000. ISBN 978-0-7472-2137-1.[4]
  • This is not a Novel (2002)[20]
  • Grace and Truth (2005)[21]
  • Foolish Mortals. London: Headline Review. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7553-3052-2.[22]
  • Truth or Fiction. London: Headline Review. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7553-3054-6.[23]
  • Shadow Story (2012)[24]
  • A Sixpenny Song (2013)[25]
  • Naming the Stars (2015)[26][27]
Plays
  • The Nightingale and Not the Lark (1981)[21]
  • Andante un Poco Mosso, first performed 1981,[28] published in The Best Short Plays 1983 (1983)
  • Indian Summer (1984)[2]
  • The Porch (1986)[2]
  • The Invisible Man (1987)[29]
  • O Ananias, Azarias and Misael (1989)[1]
  • Triptych (1989)[30]
  • Twinkletoes (1993)[31]
  • The Desert Lullaby: A Play in Two Acts. Belfast: Lagan. 1996. ISBN 978-1-873687-26-0.[32][33]
  • Moonlight and Music (2000)[34][33]
  • Waiting (2006)[35]
  • The Christmas Tree: A Play in Two Acts (2015)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j O'Rourke, Evelyn (26 February 2025). "President leads tributes to novelist Jennifer Johnston". RTÉ.ie.
  2. ^ a b c Donovan, Katie (1995). Ireland's Women: Writings Past and Present. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 525. ISBN 978-0-393-31360-4.
  3. ^ "Jennifer Johnston − Literature". Literature.britishcouncil.org. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "A shaper of sophisticated stories". Irishtimes.com. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b Rosie Cowan (11 February 2004). "Rosie Cowan on Jennifer Johnston". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. ^ Sherlock, D.J.M. (2006). Trinity College Record Volume 2006. Dublin: Trinity College Dublin Press. ISBN 1-871408-07-5.
  7. ^ "Members | Aosdana". Aosdana.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  8. ^ Mullan, Kevin (26 February 2025). "Tributes paid to Jennifer Johnston – 'one of the finest Irish novelists'". Derry Journal.
  9. ^ Doyle, Kilian (14 May 2001). "Trinity College names three Honorary Fellows". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  10. ^ "Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann". Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Johnston, Jennifer". Royal Society of Literature. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Gonzalez, Alexander G. (12 January 1930). Modern Irish Writers: A Bio-critical Sourcebook. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313295577. Retrieved 16 July 2016. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  14. ^ Smyth, Patrick. "Storyteller's shadow: Patrick Smyth on his mother Jennifer Johnston". The Irish Times, 1 March 2025.
  15. ^ O'Rourke, Evelyn (26 February 2025). "President leads tributes to novelist Jennifer Johnston". RTÉ.ie.
  16. ^ "Martina Devlin interviews Jennifer Johnston". Libranwriter.wordpress.com. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  17. ^ Michael Coveney, "Susan FitzGerald obituary", The Guardian, 10 September 2013.
  18. ^ Maureen Paton, "Tara Fitzgerald: Naked ambition" (profile), The Independent, 2 May 2003.
  19. ^ White, Jack (26 February 2025). "Writer Jennifer Johnston dies aged 95". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  20. ^ Parker, Peter (3 November 2002). "Review: Fiction: This Is Not a Novel by Jennifer Johnston". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  21. ^ a b Creamer, Ella (26 February 2025). "Jennifer Johnston, celebrated Irish novelist and playwright, dies aged 95". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  22. ^ Housham, Jane (22 November 2008). "Foolish Mortals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  23. ^ Lively, Penelope (19 December 2009). "Truth or Fiction by Jennifer Johnston". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  24. ^ Leavy, Adrienne (14 June 2017). "In praise of Jennifer Johnston". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  25. ^ Lively, Penelope (23 November 2013). "A Sixpenny Song by Jennifer Johnston – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  26. ^ "Naming the Stars by Jennifer Johnston". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  27. ^ Leland, Review: Mary (12 November 2016). "Book review: Naming the Stars". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  28. ^ "Andante Un Poco Mosso". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  29. ^ "The Invisible Man". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  30. ^ "Triptych". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  31. ^ "Twinkletoes". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  32. ^ "The Desert Lullaby". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  33. ^ a b He, Chu (2 January 2022). "Domestic traumas in two plays by Jennifer Johnston". Irish Studies Review. 30 (1): 82–97. doi:10.1080/09670882.2022.2034578. ISSN 0967-0882.
  34. ^ "Moonlight and Music". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  35. ^ "Waiting". PlayographyIreland. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
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