Pat Kavanagh agent

Patricia Olive "Pat" Kavanagh (31 January 1940 – 20 October 2008) was a British literary agent. Born in Durban, South Africa, her father was a journalist and fighter pilot, while her mother, Olive, was a pioneering public health inspector. She had a half-sister, Julie Kavanagh, a ballet critic, and a half-brother, Michael O'Brien, a geologist in Canada.

Patricia attended the University of Cape Town but pursued acting instead. After moving to Britain in 1964, she had an uncredited role in "Under Milk Wood," where she met Richard Burton, ending her acting career. She then worked as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson before becoming a literary agent after responding to an advertisement.

Hired by A.D. Peters, she learned the trade and managed clients like Arthur Koestler and Rebecca West. She married writer Julian Barnes but left him in the 1980s for Jeanette Winterson, author of "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit." Winterson drew inspiration from their relationship for her novel "The Passion."

In 1985, Patricia became Martin Amis's agent until he left after 23 years. Her employer, Peters, Fraser & Dunlop, was bought by CSS Stellar in 2001. In 2007, she and others left to form United Agents. She died on October 20, 2008, aged 68, from a brain tumor, and is buried in Highgate Cemetery's east side.