O. R. Melling

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]

O. R. Melling
BornGeraldine Valerie Whelan[1]
(1952-12-02) 2 December 1952[1]
Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland[2]
OccupationNovelist
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
GenreFantasy literature
Notable awards
Children1
Website
ormelling.com

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. "Melling, O.R.". Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada. University of Toronto Press. 2002. p. 736 – via Internet Archive.
  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. "Award-winning Orla writes about a world of fantasy". Irish Independent. 13 July 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  4. "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. 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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