Opinion: The novels about the Walsh sisters are funny, entertaining reads which both reflected and influenced Irish cultural opinions
By Maria Butler, UCD
The extremely popular commercial fiction author Marian Keyes introduced us to the Walsh sisters with her first novel, 1995’s Watermelon. Published a year before Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones Diary, the novel widely credited with kickstarting chick lit and Watermelon and Keyes’ later novels became associated with the genre.
Chick lit initially referred to a comedic sub-genre of commercial women’s fiction which featured single, urban women in their twenties and thirties balancing love and friendship with changing gender roles and professional expectations. However, it quickly became a way to diminish writing by female authors with Keyes herself describing it as a "pejorative term" stating that "one way of keeping women shut up is to call the things they love 'fluff'".
Unfortunately, the gendered attitudes decried by Keyes obscured the social-political themes present in the Walsh sister novels with many commentators deciding to focus on Keyes’ brightly coloured book covers instead of their contents. Thankfully, attitudes are now starting to change towards Keyes and her writings in recent years, as evidenced by the National Library of Ireland’s Marian Keyes Mystery of Mercy Close Collection and The National Gallery of Ireland’s 2024 unveiling of The Composition – A Portrait of Marian Keyes. So, to encourage the ongoing cultural reappraisal of Keyes’ writings, here is a primer on the Walsh sisters’ politics to give you a chance to catch up before RTÉ’s The Walsh Sisters TV show later in the year.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One, why author Marian Keyes is donating some of her 'digital' work to the National Library
Watermelon (1995)
Eldest Walsh sister Claire’s husband leaves her for another woman on the day she gives birth to their first child. Claire and her baby move back from London to stay with her family in Dublin. Chaos ensues. Written at a time when divorce and abortion were both illegal in Ireland, Watermelon invites readers to reconceptualise family structures. Claire is a young, attractive, well-educated married woman who despite following the "correct" path of marriage then baby suddenly finds herself grappling with single motherhood. Watermelon’s pro-choice and pro-divorce narratives nudge readers to consider the extant circumstances which might lead a woman to both.
Rachel's Holiday (1997)
Second sister Rachel is dragged home from New York and sent to rehab after she accidentally overdoses. Despite her copious drug use, Rachel’s internalisation of drug addict stereotypes means that she cannot accept that she is an addict. Rooted in Keyes' own history of addiction, the novel fights against stereotypical class-based representations of male vagrant alcoholics and heroin addicted drug users in high rise flats to show that addicts can be any class or gender. It also shows how the late-nineties association between postfeminist freedoms and drug and alcohol use, as well as the moralistic counter narratives circulating at the time, can damage young women by linking women’s autonomy with hedonism.
Angels (2002)
Middle sister and goody two shoes Maggie ends her marriage and runs away to LA when she discovers her husband Garv’s affair. Published the same year as the 2002 abortion referendum, the story pivots around Maggie’s acceptance of her teenage abortion and how her internalised shame leads her to blame her history of miscarriages on her choice to have an abortion. Moving away from Ireland to a country which, at the time, allowed abortion helps Maggie to reclaim her body by having lots of sex. It also affords her the geographical and emotional distance to finally process her shame. In Angels Keyes’ once again couches a pro-choice narrative within a romance story.
— BBC The One Show (@BBCTheOneShow) February 13, 2025
Bestselling author @MarianKeyes shares her excitement about the Walsh sisters series being brought to the screen and reveals one of the cast members! 👀🎬#TheOneShow 👉 https://t.co/CqYeRtQci0 pic.twitter.com/2O6iStQMA3
Anybody Out There? (2007)
The least political of the five original Walsh sister books, Anybody Out There? follows fourth sister Anna in the immediate aftermath of a significant bereavement. It highlights the difficulties of being a woman in the workplace and draws attention to the various con artists who can take advantage of those suffering from extreme grief.
The Mystery of Mercy Close (2012)
The Mystery of Mercy Close was written while Keyes was suffering from severe depression. Drawing on the author's own experience, the novel follows youngest sister and fan favourite, Helen, a private investigator as she tries to locate missing boyband member Wayne Diffney. At the same time Helen must also navigate the reoccurrence of her depression which previously culminated in multiple suicide attempts and a stay in a psychiatric facility.
Mercy Close attempts to destigmatise depression at a time when many Irish people were afraid of those with mental illness. It removes the drama from mental illness by emphasising the tedium of depression and suicide and shows how Helen is only a danger to herself. Finally, it speaks to the efficacy of stigmatised treatments for depression including medication, therapy, and psychiatric hospitals.
Read more: Why commercial fiction is an ideal place for social activism
Despite these topics, the Walsh sister novels are funny, entertaining reads which both reflected and influenced Irish cultural opinions at their time of publication. My research argues that it is this combination of humour and non-serious packaging with Keyes’ treatment of important social themes that helped to change people’s minds. Nevertheless, it is now time to look beyond the brightly coloured book covers to consider the significance of what’s hidden in between.
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Dr Maria Butler is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Cultural Analytics in UCD. She is a former Research Ireland awardee. Her PhD thesis, Activism and the Authorial Persona: Narratives of Addiction, Depression and Abortion in the Writings of Marian Keyes, was co-funded by the National Library of Ireland under the NLI born digital pilot project.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
