Violet Florence Martin (11 June 1862 – 21 December 1915) was an Irish author who co-wrote a series of

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s with cousin

Edith Somerville Edith Anna Œnone Somerville (2 May 1858 – 8 October 1949) was an Irish novelist who habitually signed herself as "E. Œ. Somerville". She wrote in collaboration with her cousin "Martin Ross" ( Violet Martin) under the pseudonym " Somerville ...

under the pen name of Martin Ross ( Somerville and Ross) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.Boylan (1998)

Early life

Martin was born at Ross House in Connemara,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, the youngest of sixteen children of James Martin of Ross (1804–1872). The Martin family, a branch of the Martyn family - one of the

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

- had settled at Ross by the early seventeenth century, having previously inhabited the town of Galway for some three hundred years. Her father, James, was a Protestant, his grandfather having converted from the Catholic faith in order to retain the family estates under the Penal Laws. Nevertheless, each child of the family was secretly 'baptised' by the family servants, a practice James Martin winked at. She was a kinswoman of Richard Martin and her contemporary,

Edward Martyn Edward Martyn (30 January 1859 – 5 December 1923) was an Irish playwright and early republican political and cultural activist, as the first president of Sinn Féin from 1905–08. Early life Martyn was the elder son of John Martyn of Tullira ...

, two other notable members of the tribe. Her older brother, Robert Jasper Martin, was a noted

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ge ...

and a well-regarded member of the Tory party in London. She shared a great-grandmother with the writer

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the ...

, whose use of Irish vernacular speech she followed in her work. Her father had managed to save both his estate and his tenants during the Great Famine - boasting that not one of his people died during the disaster - but at the cost of

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debto ...

. Following his death in 1872, the family moved to Dublin and only returned to Ross in 1888 following revelations of financial fraud of the estate by their agent.

Writings and companionship with Edith Somerville

Violet Martin and Edith Somerville were second cousins. They originally met on 17 January 1886 at Castletownshend, after which they became lifelong companions and literary partners. They came to share a home in Drishane, County Cork. In 1889, Violet adopted the pseudonym Martin Ross, which comprised her surname and the name of her ancestral home; thus the authors were called Somerville and Ross. Their works included '' The Real Charlotte'' (1889), '' Some Reminiscences of an Irish R.M.'' and ''In The Vine Country''. The precise nature of their relationship — whether they were romantic and sexual partners as well as literary collaborators and friends — has been the object of speculation by later writers.

Political and cultural outlook

Martin was a convinced

Irish unionist Unionism is a political tradition on the island of Ireland that favours political union with Great Britain and professes loyalty to the United Kingdom, British Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Crown and Constitution of the United Kingdom, cons ...

, in opposition to Somerville's open nationalism. Both she and her brother Robert were well-regarded members of the literary circle in Irish unionism. However, unlike her brother, Martin was a convinced

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for women's suffrage, the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in part ...

, becoming vice-president of the Munster Women's Franchise League. While on friendly terms with the leading members of the Gaelic literary revival such as W.B. Yeats and

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatr ...

, she objected to their romantic version of Irish peasantry. She was on good terms with

, partner of Gregory and Yeats - and her kinsman - and shared his love of the Irish language and culture.

Later years

Violet was seriously injured in a riding accident in November 1898, from which she never fully recovered. This was a contributing factor to her death in Drishane, County Cork, in 1915. Edith Somerville continued to write under their joint literary names, claiming that they were still in contact.Gifford (1987) The two women left thousands of letters and 116 volumes of diaries, detailing their lives, much of them yet unpublished. Edith died at Castletownshend in October 1949, aged 91, and is buried alongside Violet Florence Martin at Saint Barrahane's Church, Castletownsend, County Cork, Ireland. She was awarded a posthumous D.Litt. by

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

Collaborative novels

*''An Irish Cousin'' (1889) *''Naboth's Vineyard'' (1891) *''In the Vine Country'' (1893) *''Through Connemara in a Governess Cart'' (1893) *''The Real Charlotte'' (1894) *''Beggars on Horseback'' (1895) *''The Silver Fox'' (1897) *''Some Experiences of an Irish R. M.'' (1899) *''A Patrick's Day Hunt'' (1902) *''All on the Irish Shore'' (1903) *''Further Experiences of an Irish R.M.'' (1908) *''Dan Russell the Fox'' (1911) *''In Mr Knox's Country'' (1915)

References and sources

Notes Sources * *

External links

* * *
The E. OE. Somerville & Martin Ross Exhibition
detailed catalogue for a 2006 exhibition held at Queen's University Belfast {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Violet Florence 1862 births 1915 deaths Irish novelists People from County Galway 19th-century Irish people 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Pseudonymous women writers Irish women novelists