author
M. A. (Mary Acworth) Orr
1867–1949
A gifted amateur astronomer and Dante scholar, this British writer brought science and literature together in a way that feels fresh even now. Writing as M. A. Orr, she is especially remembered for making the astronomy in Dante’s work clear and approachable.
2 Audiobooks
Dante and the early astronomers
by M. A. (Mary Acworth) Orr
Stars of the southern skies
by M. A. (Mary Acworth) Orr
About the author
Born in 1867, Mary Acworth Orr later became Mary Acworth Evershed after her marriage to astronomer John Evershed. She was a British astronomer, scholar, and writer who published her Dante studies under the pen name M. A. Orr.
Her best-known work explores the astronomical ideas behind Dante’s poetry, blending careful reading with a real knowledge of the night sky. She also wrote popular astronomy, including Stars of the Southern Skies, and was part of the wider astronomical world through both her own interests and her collaboration with her husband.
She died in 1949. Today she is remembered as a thoughtful interpreter of both science and literature, with a rare talent for showing how the two can deepen each other.