Olga Fielden (1903–1973) was a

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

based

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. Her 1933 novel ''Island Story'' was described in the

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

as having an "exhilarating quality". 1936's ''Stress'' was similarly described as "fresh and vigorous". John Wilson Foster describes Fielden's fictional world as one in which "violence, degeneration, animal desires and greed battle with the gentler aspirations to refinement, cultivation, decency." Fielden wrote a number of plays for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and ''Three To Go'' was produced by the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

in Dublin.

Life

Olga Fielden was born in 1903 in Belfast; she was one of six children born to Victor Leopold George Fielden, an anaesthetist and professor at the

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, and his wife Caroline nee Grant. Fielden was a

based

and

.Belfast novelist and playwright dies, The Irish Times 25/04/1973 She was a member of

PEN PEN may refer to: * (National Ecological Party), former name of the Brazilian political party Patriota (PATRI) * PEN International, a worldwide association of writers ** English PEN, the founding centre of PEN International ** PEN America, located ...

and the amateur dramatics society the Northern Drama League, for whom she wrote plays. Her novel ''Island Story'' (Jonathan Cape, 1933) was described in the

as having an "exhilarating quality". ''Stress'' (Jonathan Cape, 1936) was similarly described as "fresh and vigorous". John Wilson Foster describes Fielden's fictional world as one in which "violence, degeneration, animal desires and greed battle with the gentler aspirations to refinement, cultivation, decency." She wrote a third novel, ''Liam Donne'', which remained unpublished "due to the war". It was a fictional retelling of the story of

William de Burgh William de Burgh ( , ; ; –winter 1205/06) was the founder of the House of Burgh (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given ...

, Earl of Ulster. Fielden wrote a number of plays for the

and ''Three To Go'' was produced by the

in Dublin in 1950.

Legacy

Fielden died in 1973. Her one-act play ''Witches in Eden'' covers the real witch trials that took place in

Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rur ...

in the early 1700’s, and was staged at Ulster University in 2023.

References

External links

Olga Fielden papers at Queen's University Belfast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielden, Olga 1973 deaths 1903 births Women novelists from Northern Ireland 20th-century novelists from Northern Ireland 20th-century Irish women writers 20th-century dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Women dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland