Martin Ross

Writing as Martin Ross, Violet Florence Martin was an Irish novelist and short story writer born on June 11, 1862, at Ross House in County Galway. She is most closely associated with her cousin and creative partner Edith Somerville, with whom she formed the famous partnership Somerville and Ross.

Together they wrote novels, stories, and memoirs that drew on Anglo-Irish life, often with warmth, satire, and a strong sense of place. Their best-known work includes The Real Charlotte, and they also became widely loved for the Irish R.M. stories, which brought comedy and social observation together in a fresh, memorable way.

Martin died on December 21, 1915, in County Cork. Even after her death, Somerville continued to speak of their collaboration as a living creative bond, which helped keep Martin Ross's voice and reputation alive for later generations of readers.