''Tales from Bective Bridge'' is a collection of ten short stories concerning rural Ireland and its populace by the writer

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 after ...

, born an American, who returned along with her family to Ireland in 1925. The collection was first published in 1942, with the assistance of

Lord Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957), commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consist ...

, who also wrote the introduction. The collection established her as a writer of note and won the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

in 1943. The bridge of the title, Bective Bridge, lies not far from what was her home, Abbey Farm, near Bective Abbey, between Bective and Robinstown in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

Bibliography

*''Tales From Bective Bridge'', Little, Brown, 1942 *

References

*''Catholic women writers: a bio-bibliographical sourcebook'' Reichardt, Mary R., 2001 *New York Times article on Mary Lavin

*Article by Donna L. Potts

Irish short stories 1942 short story collections Michael Joseph books {{Ireland-stub