Mary Lavin

Mary Josephine Lavin (10 June 1912 – 25 March 1996) was an American-born Irish author of short stories and novels, now regarded as a pioneer in the field of women's writing. The well-known Anglo-Irish writer Lord Dunsany mentored Lavin.
Her subject matter often dealt explicitly with concerns of women, as well as a deep Catholic faith (she attended a convent school in Dublin). She is particularly noteworthy for her stories on the topic of widowhood, which are acknowledged to be among her finest. Her husband died in 1954, a little over a decade into their marriage. She remarried in 1969. Her second husband, who before his marriage to Lavin had been living abroad, died in 1991 and she was once again a widow, remaining so until her death five years later.