Murphy, Maura 1928–

PERSONAL: Born 1928, in Clonmore, County Offaly, Ireland; maiden name McNamee; married John Murphy (a factory worker), 1953; children: nine. Religion: Roman Catholic.

ADDRESSES: Home—Birmingham, England. Office—c/ Author Mail, Thomas Dunne Books, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Writer. Has worked as a domestic and in a variety of part-time jobs.

WRITINGS:

Don't Wake Me at Doyle's: A Memoir, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: Maura Murphy tells the story of her hardscrabble life in Don't Wake Me at Doyle's: A Memoir. She knew poverty throughout her growing-up years in rural Ireland, and her marriage to John Murphy and their move to Birmingham, England, brought no escape; she had to struggle financially as much as ever, in addition to putting up with her husband's drunkenness and violence while bringing up nine children. She left her husband several times, returning to him every time but the last—when she was past her seventieth birthday and had just recovered from lung cancer. With John staying in the couple's retirement cottage in Ireland, Maura Murphy went back to Birmingham to be closer to her offspring, and decided to write her memoir, something for which her acute memory and her years of diary-keeping had prepared her. Her book also includes excerpts from diaries her family members kept during her illness. The result is a story that is uplifting despite the downbeat nature of its subject.

The author's "skillful storytelling and optimistic spirit give even the grimmest moments of her difficult life story levity," remarked a Publishers Weekly reviewer. In a similar vein, Booklist contributor Patricia Monaghan found the book enhanced by "the stubborn optimism of Murphy's narrative voice." A Kirkus Reviews critic pronounced the work a "lovely memoir of a roving life, full of dread and great affection," while Entertainment Weekly commentator Jennifer Reese deemed it "brutally effective." Ray O'Hanlon, who profiled Murphy for the Irish Echo, described the book as "Murphy's statement to the world, her epistle for those who follow in her unlikely, well, wake…. Murphy has taken control of her own life. And she's delighted with herself."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Murphy, Maura, Don't Wake Me at Doyle's: A Memoir, Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2003.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2005, Patricia Monaghan, review of Don't Wake Me at Doyle's, p. 1056.

Entertainment Weekly, February 11, 2005, Jennifer Reese, review of Don't Wake Me at Doyle's, p. 67.

Irish Echo, March 17, 2005, Ray O'Hanlon, "St. Patrick's Day 2005: An Accidental Author."

Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2005, review of Don't Wake Me at Doyle's, p. 38.

Publishers Weekly, December 6, 2004, review of Don't Wake Me at Doyle's, p. 49.