Marian Keyes is an Irish novelist, born in Limerick on 10 September 1963, best known for the Walsh Family novels that began with “Watermelon” in 1995. Her books treat subjects such as addiction, depression and bereavement with humour, and more than 35 million copies have been sold in 33 languages.
Keyes was raised in Cork and took a law degree at University College Dublin before moving to London in 1986, where she worked in an administrative job. She began writing short stories while struggling with alcoholism. After treatment at the Rutland Centre in Dublin in 1995 she sent the stories to Poolbeg Press, which asked her for a full-length novel, and “Watermelon” was published the same year.
Each Walsh Family novel follows one of five sisters: Claire in “Watermelon”, Rachel in “Rachel’s Holiday” and “Again, Rachel”, Maggie in “Angels”, Anna in “Anybody Out There?” and “My Favourite Mistake”, and Helen in “The Mystery of Mercy Close”. Keyes wrote the Helen Walsh book during a period of severe depression that lasted about four years, and its heroine goes through a similar illness.
Her standalone novels include “Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married” (1996), which was adapted for ITV in 1999, and “This Charming Man”, which won the popular fiction prize at the Irish Book Awards in 2009. “Grown Ups” (2020) follows three couples in the Casey family. She has also published non-fiction collections, beginning with “Under the Duvet”, and a cookbook, “Saved by Cake”.
Keyes was named Author of the Year at the Irish Book Awards in 2021 and co-presents “Now You’re Asking” on BBC Radio 4 with Tara Flynn. “The Walsh Sisters”, a television drama drawn from “Rachel’s Holiday” and “Anybody Out There?”, began on RTÉ One in September 2025, reached BBC One in February 2026 and has been renewed for a second series. Netflix has filmed an adaptation of “Grown Ups” in Dublin. Penguin lists her next standalone novel, not yet titled, for June 2027.
Publication Order of Walsh Family Books
| Watermelon | 1995 |
| Rachel’s Holiday | 1998 |
| Angels | 2002 |
| Anybody Out There? | 2006 |
| Mammy Walsh’s A-Z of the Walsh Family | 2012 |
| The Mystery of Mercy Close | 2012 |
| Again, Rachel | 2022 |
| My Favourite Mistake | 2024 |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
| Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married | 1996 |
| Last Chance Saloon | 1999 |
| Sushi for Beginners | 2000 |
| The Other Side of the Story | 2004 |
| This Charming Man | 2008 |
| The Brightest Star in the Sky | 2009 |
| The Woman Who Stole My Life | 2014 |
| The Break | 2017 |
| Grown Ups | 2020 |
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas
| No Dress Rehearsal | 2000 |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| Under the Duvet | 2001 |
| Further Under the Duvet | 2005 |
| Saved by Cake | 2012 |
| Making It Up As I Go Along | 2016 |