Maeve Binchy was born in Dublin in 1940. She wrote newspaper columns and plays but is probably best known for her wonderfully Irish historical fiction novels and short stories. Her true to life characters portrayed life in Ireland with an often humorous twist.

Among her many wonderful characters my favorite is Benny, the awkward lump of a girl from Circle of Friends. Maeve mentioned that she considered herself to be a lump of a girl and never expected to marry, however she met her future husband Gordon, in London while recording a piece for radio. They married in 1977 and were together until her death in 2012.

As a young woman Maeve worked on a kibbutz in Israel and the life she saw and experienced there help to influence her writing. Her parents always believed in her and they sent her letters from Israel to a newspaper where they were published.This was the catalyst for her writing career.

Although I have read many of her short stories, her novels will always have a place in my heart and they have influenced my own writing of The Girl in the Shadows series.

I was very upset when I heard the news of her death. I wondered what I would do without my favorite author but to my delight her publishers have announced that they are going to publish one further collection – A Few of the Girls. In the meantime I will re-read some of the novels listed below.

How many of the following novels have you read?
Light a Penny Candle (1982)
Echoes (1985)
Firefly Summer (1987)
Silver Wedding (1988)
Circle of Friends (1990)
The Copper Beech (1992)
The Glass Lake (1994)
Evening Class (1996)
Tara Road (1998)
Scarlet Feather (2000)
Quentins (2002)
Nights of Rain and Stars (2004)
Whitethorn Woods (2006)
Heart and Soul (2008)
Minding Frankie (2010)
A Week in Winter (2012)

For more info and details of the upcoming collection, “A Few of the Girls” make sure to bookmark the official Maeve Binchy website