Lady Auriel Rosemary Malet Vaughan (born 1923) is an author of literary fiction and biographies who wrote under the name of Oriel Malet. Her parents were Ernest Edmund Henry Malet Vaughan, 7th Earl of Lisburne

Earl of Lisburne

Earl of Lisburne is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for Wilmot Vaughan, 4th Viscount Lisburne. He notably represented Cardiganshire and Berwick-upon-Tweed in the House of Commons and held minor governmental office. His younger son, the third Earl, sat as Member of...

 and Maria Isabel Regina Aspasia de Bittencourt. Her godmother was the French actress and singer Yvonne Arnaud

Yvonne Arnaud

Yvonne Arnaud was a French-born pianist, singer and actress.Germaine Yvonne Arnaud was born in 1892. She entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 9, studying piano under Alphonse Duvernoy and other teachers...

, whom Malet wrote about in her book Marraine: a portrait of my godmother (1961).

After spending her childhood in Wales, Malet wrote her first book at the age of 17, Trust in the Springtime, which was published in 1943. This was followed by My Bird Sings (1946) for which she was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize

The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom...

 in the same year. Among her other works is a fictionalised biography of Marjory Fleming, the child poet and writer, written when Malet was 20. Marjory Fleming was originally published in 1946, and was reprinted by Persephone Books

Persephone Books

Persephone Books is an independent publisher based in Bloomsbury, London. Founded in 1999 by Nicola Beauman, Persephone has a catalogue of 93 "neglected novels, diaries, poetry, short stories, non-fiction, biography and cookery books, mostly by women and mostly dating from the early to...

 in 2000. Malet has spent much of her life in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and after initially moving to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, she lived in Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 where she currently resides, in Eure

Eure

Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...

.

Malet was a close friend of the author Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier

Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...

. Their friendship is documented in the book Letters from Menabilly

Menabilly

Menabilly is an Elizabethan house on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Rashleigh Estate, seat of the Rashleigh family. Menabilly is situated on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey...

: Portrait of a Friendship (1994), a collection of du Maurier's letters to Malet over the course of 30 years, as well as Malet's accompanying commentary.