Irish author Edna O'Brien originally intended her first novel, The Country Girls to be a trilogy; the novel, first published as one book with three distinct parts, was first published as a single volume in 1986, but had been published more than two decades earlier as a trilogy. The original trilogy consisted of three books; The Country Girls, published in 1960, The Lonely Girl, published in 1962, and Girls In Their Married Bliss, which followed three years later. When the single volume novel was published, the final "book" had a revised ending, and an epilogue was also added.
The novel tells the story of "country girls" Cathleen Brady and Bridget Brennan, who have grown up in Ireland together. They move to the city after graduating high school, and try to keep their friendship alive, but find that new relationships get in the way. Narrated in the third person for the most part, the third segment of the novel is slightly different in style in that it is narrated by Bridget, although the parts that relate to Cathleen's story are still told in the third person.
Not surprisingly, due to its portrayal of strong young women experimenting with relationships and enjoying sexual experiences outside marriage, the Irish Board of Censorship did not like the book, and it was banned. Although this can often create a public appetite for a book that makes it a commercial success, this was not true of The Country Girls, which was not a big hit with the public due to the fact that religious and political leaders were so vociferous in their condemnation of it; the Prime Minister at the time declared it to be filth,that did not belong in any decent home; anxious to avoid appearing to be a home devoid of decency the public gave the book somewhat of a wide berth.
By contrast, the international reception to the book was positive, proving once again the Ireland was extraordinarily biased against its female writers, and O'Brien was lauded for he courage in publishing a novel that furthered women's empowerment despite knowing that she would be lambasted in her repressive and prurient home country because of it.
In 2012, O'Brien penned her memoir, A Country Girl, for which she was awarded the Irish Book Award for non-fiction.
