Julia Kavanagh (7 January 1824 – 28 October 1877) was an Irish novelist, born at Thurles in County Tipperary, Ireland—then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Although she is mainly known for the novel and tales she wrote, she also published important non-fiction works that explored the theme of female political, moral and philosophical contributions to society.

An attempt to capitalize on his daughter's literary fame by adding her as co-author to one of his published novels brought Julia much annoyance.

[6] Julia and her mother were again living in Paris from the early 1860s, but moved to Rouen and then to Nice upon the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.

Her style is domestic, simple and pleasing, aimed at younger woman readers; her main characters tend to be strong independent and resourceful women.

[11] Modern scholars see a pronounced awareness of gender politics in Kavanagh's writing and view her as a writer whose works consciously exposed the anomalies of social and sexual difference while still adhering to the conventions of the time.