Blanche Girouard
BLANCHE GIROUARD was born Blanche de la Poer Beresford in 1898, into a prominent Irish Protestant family – her father was the 6th Marquess of Waterford. She grew up mainly in her family’s homes in Ireland, and developed a profound attachment to the Irish landscape and people which inspired her life and works. She married Richard Girouard in 1927, and converted to his Catholic faith in 1929, causing a minor social storm; they had three children, one of whom is the noted architectural historian, Mark Girouard. Her granddaughter, and namesake, is also an esteemed writer. Her only novel, The Story of Keth, was published in 1928, and her sole volume of short stories, The World is for the Young, was published in 1935, both to great acclaim. Her life and career were cut tragically short when she died in a car accident on September 29, 1940, at the age of 41.
