WRITER

Brian O'Nolan

1911 - 1966

Photo of Brian O'Nolan

Icon of person Brian O'Nolan

Brian O'Nolan (Irish: Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, he is regarded as a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature. His English language novels, such as At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman, were written under the O'Brien pen name. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Brian O'Nolan has received more than 327,059 page views. His biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 26 in 2019). Brian O'Nolan is the 4,377th most popular writer (down from 4,006th in 2019), the 3,127th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 2,955th in 2019) and the 350th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 330k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.30

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 30

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.83

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.04

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The Dalkey archive
Fiction
1964
At Swim-Two-Birds
Adaptations, Celtic Mythology, Classic Literature
Flann O'Brien's first novel is a brilliant impressionistic jumble of ideas, mythology and nonsense. Operating on many levels it incorporates plots within plots, giving full rein to O'Brien's dancing intellect and Celtic wit. The undergraduate narrator lives with his uncle in Dublin, drinks too much with his friends and invents stories peopled with hilarious and unlikely characters, one of whom, in a typical O'Brien conundrum, creates a means by which women can give birth to full-grown people. Flann O'Brien's blend of farce, satire and fantasy result in a remarkable, astonishingly innovative book.
1939
Béal boċt
Fiction, Poor
1973
The hard life
Brothers, Fiction, Orphans
1961
The third policeman
Fiction, Murder, Long Now Manual for Civilization
1967
An béal bocht
Poor, Fiction
1941

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Brian O'Nolan ranks 4,377 out of 7,302. Before him are Millosh Gjergj Nikolla, Vicente Espinel, Jurij Koch, Otar Chiladze, Ivar Lo-Johansson, and William Wharton. After him are Yervant Odian, Mohammad-Ali Jamalzadeh, Roberto Saviano, Marek Hłasko, M. R. James, and Wilhelm Küchelbecker.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1911, Brian O'Nolan ranks 220. Before him are Big Joe Turner, Annibale Frossi, Jean Shiley, Roger Lapébie, Michel Pablo, and Millosh Gjergj Nikolla. After him are Ellen Corby, Consalvo Sanesi, Luís Mesquita de Oliveira, Nikolai Kryuchkov, Martim Mércio da Silveira, and Aly Khan. Among people deceased in 1966, Brian O'Nolan ranks 146. Before him are Yuri Shaporin, Anna Langfus, Dirk Brouwer, Emiliano Chamorro Vargas, Stylianos Gonatas, and Friedrich Wilhelm Foerster. After him are Sofya Yanovskaya, Santiago Lovell, Seán T. O'Kelly, Naima Akef, Harry Beaumont, and Cordwainer Smith.

Others Born in 1911

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Others Deceased in 1966

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Brian O'Nolan ranks 3,127 out of 8,785. Before him are Anton Lesser (1952), William Froude (1810), Ben Barnes (1981), Alexander Bain (1810), Antonio Pappano (1959), and Rory McCann (1969). After him are M. R. James (1862), Thomas Bewick (1753), Geoff Downes (1952), Johnny Herbert (1964), Raphael Holinshed (1529), and Anne Bradstreet (1612).

Others born in United Kingdom

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Brian O'Nolan ranks 350. Before him are Pamela Colman Smith (1878), John Stott (1921), Reynold A. Nicholson (1868), Winston Graham (1908), Andrew Marvell (1621), and William Thoms (1803). After him are M. R. James (1862), Raphael Holinshed (1529), Anne Bradstreet (1612), Robert Chambers (1802), Graham Swift (1949), and Radclyffe Hall (1880).

British born Writers

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