Maeve Binchy
Encyclopedia
Maeve Binchy is an Irish novel
ist, newspaper columnist
and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin
, she worked as a teacher then a journalist
at The Irish Times
and later became a writer of novels and short stories
.
Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between urban and rural life, the contrasts between England and Ireland, and the dramatic changes in Ireland between World War II
and the present day.
Her novel Circle of Friends
was made into a 1995 Hollywood movie starring Chris O'Donnell
and Minnie Driver
with a radical change of ending.
Binchy announced in 2000 that she would not be going on tours with any more novels, but would be devoting her time to other activities, and to her husband, Gordon Snell, a children's author. She has written five further novels since then — Quentins
, Nights of Rain and Stars
, Whitethorn Woods
, Heart and Soul
and Minding Frankie (2010). She lives in Dalkey, not far from where she grew up.
In 1978, Binchy won a Jacob's Award for her RTÉ
play, Deeply Regretted By. A second award went to the lead actor, Donall Farmer. A 1993 photograph of her by Richard Whitehead belongs to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery (London) and a painting of her by Maeve McCarthy, commissioned in 2005, is on display in the National Gallery of Ireland
.
She is sister of William Binchy, Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College, Dublin.
, Light a Penny Candle
) many of her novels revolve around a cast of interrelated characters (The Copper Beech
, Silver Wedding, The Lilac Bus
, Evening Class, Heart and Soul
). Her later novels, Evening Class, Scarlet Feather
, Quentins
, and Tara Road
, feature a continuum of recurring characters..
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
ist, newspaper columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, she worked as a teacher then a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
at The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
and later became a writer of novels and short stories
Short Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
.
Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between urban and rural life, the contrasts between England and Ireland, and the dramatic changes in Ireland between World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the present day.
Her novel Circle of Friends
Circle of Friends (novel)
Circle of Friends is a 1990 novel by Maeve Binchy. It is set in Dublin and the fictitious town of Knockglen in rural Ireland during the 1950s, and centres around a group of university students.- Characters :...
was made into a 1995 Hollywood movie starring Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
and Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
with a radical change of ending.
Binchy announced in 2000 that she would not be going on tours with any more novels, but would be devoting her time to other activities, and to her husband, Gordon Snell, a children's author. She has written five further novels since then — Quentins
Quentins
Quentins is a 2002 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.-Plot introduction:Ella Brady, a young science teacher, falls in love with a successful businessman who is married but tells her that his marriage was "dead". For some time she is happy with the torrid affair, and manages to overlook some...
, Nights of Rain and Stars
Nights of Rain and Stars
Nights of Rain and Stars is a romance novel by Maeve Binchy.-Plot:In a small town in Greece, a group of people witness a boating accident and subsequently become tangled in each other's lives. Thomas is a Californian university professor escaping from the tense relationship between him and his...
, Whitethorn Woods
Whitethorn Woods
-Plot introduction:The novel is told through the stories of numerous people who are somehow connected to a town in Ireland by the name of Rossmore. The town faces a major dilemma as news surfaces that a new highway is being built through the area, which could threaten to disrupt the peaceful and...
, Heart and Soul
Heart and Soul (novel)
Heart and Soul is a 2008 novel by Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, about a heart clinic in Dublin and the people involved with it. Several characters from Binchy's previous novels, including Evening Class and Quentins, make appearances....
and Minding Frankie (2010). She lives in Dalkey, not far from where she grew up.
In 1978, Binchy won a Jacob's Award for her RTÉ
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
play, Deeply Regretted By. A second award went to the lead actor, Donall Farmer. A 1993 photograph of her by Richard Whitehead belongs to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery (London) and a painting of her by Maeve McCarthy, commissioned in 2005, is on display in the National Gallery of Ireland
National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
.
She is sister of William Binchy, Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College, Dublin.
Themes
While some novels are complete stories (Circle of FriendsCircle of Friends (novel)
Circle of Friends is a 1990 novel by Maeve Binchy. It is set in Dublin and the fictitious town of Knockglen in rural Ireland during the 1950s, and centres around a group of university students.- Characters :...
, Light a Penny Candle
Light a Penny Candle
Light a Penny Candle is a novel by Maeve Binchy which follows two girls growing up in the aftermath of World War II.-Plot summary:...
) many of her novels revolve around a cast of interrelated characters (The Copper Beech
The Copper Beech
The Copper Beech is a 1992 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.The novel is centered around the lives of eight people, each of which have etched their dreams or desires into a large beech tree on the last day of school. The novel follows the progression of their lives and whether they accomplished...
, Silver Wedding, The Lilac Bus
The Lilac Bus
The Lilac Bus is a collection of interrelated short stories by the writer Maeve Binchy, first published in 1984. The stories were later republished, along with the earlier collection Dublin 4, in The Lilac Bus: Stories....
, Evening Class, Heart and Soul
Heart and Soul (novel)
Heart and Soul is a 2008 novel by Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, about a heart clinic in Dublin and the people involved with it. Several characters from Binchy's previous novels, including Evening Class and Quentins, make appearances....
). Her later novels, Evening Class, Scarlet Feather
Scarlet Feather
Scarlet Feather is a 2000 novel by Maeve Binchy.One of the novel's main characters is Cathy Scarlet, who has married Neil Mitchell, son of the wealthy household where her mother Lizzie used to scrub floors. Neil's mother Hannah was totally against the marriage and makes life hard for Cathy...
, Quentins
Quentins
Quentins is a 2002 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.-Plot introduction:Ella Brady, a young science teacher, falls in love with a successful businessman who is married but tells her that his marriage was "dead". For some time she is happy with the torrid affair, and manages to overlook some...
, and Tara Road
Tara Road
Tara Road is a novel by Maeve Binchy. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1999.-Plot introduction:It is the story of two women, one from Ireland and one from America, who trade houses without ever having met...
, feature a continuum of recurring characters..
Novels
- Light a Penny CandleLight a Penny CandleLight a Penny Candle is a novel by Maeve Binchy which follows two girls growing up in the aftermath of World War II.-Plot summary:...
(1982) - EchoesEchoes (TV series)Echoes is a four-part Irish drama miniseries based on the novel of the same name by Maeve Binchy. It was produced for Channel 4 by Working Title Films in association with RTÉ.-Cast:*Siobhan Garahy ... Clare O'Brien*Robert Hines ... David Power...
(1985) - Firefly SummerFirefly SummerFirefly Summer is a 1987 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.The plot revolves around the rural town of Mountfern between the years of 1963 and 1966. Patrick O'Neill, an American businessman, returns to "the land of his ancestors" to build a resort out of a condemned castle...
(1987) - Silver Wedding (1988)
- Circle of FriendsCircle of Friends (novel)Circle of Friends is a 1990 novel by Maeve Binchy. It is set in Dublin and the fictitious town of Knockglen in rural Ireland during the 1950s, and centres around a group of university students.- Characters :...
(1990) - The Copper BeechThe Copper BeechThe Copper Beech is a 1992 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.The novel is centered around the lives of eight people, each of which have etched their dreams or desires into a large beech tree on the last day of school. The novel follows the progression of their lives and whether they accomplished...
(1992) - The Glass LakeThe Glass LakeThe Glass Lake is a novel by Maeve Binchy. Similar to other Binchy novels, this book is set in a rural Irish village in the 1950s, as well as London. It is notable as the last of Binchy's novels to date to be set in the 1950s. The story focuses on Kit McMahon and her relationship with her mother...
(1994) - Evening Class (1996)
- Tara RoadTara RoadTara Road is a novel by Maeve Binchy. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1999.-Plot introduction:It is the story of two women, one from Ireland and one from America, who trade houses without ever having met...
(1998) - Scarlet FeatherScarlet FeatherScarlet Feather is a 2000 novel by Maeve Binchy.One of the novel's main characters is Cathy Scarlet, who has married Neil Mitchell, son of the wealthy household where her mother Lizzie used to scrub floors. Neil's mother Hannah was totally against the marriage and makes life hard for Cathy...
(2000) - QuentinsQuentinsQuentins is a 2002 novel by Irish author Maeve Binchy.-Plot introduction:Ella Brady, a young science teacher, falls in love with a successful businessman who is married but tells her that his marriage was "dead". For some time she is happy with the torrid affair, and manages to overlook some...
(2002) - Nights of Rain and StarsNights of Rain and StarsNights of Rain and Stars is a romance novel by Maeve Binchy.-Plot:In a small town in Greece, a group of people witness a boating accident and subsequently become tangled in each other's lives. Thomas is a Californian university professor escaping from the tense relationship between him and his...
(2004) - Whitethorn WoodsWhitethorn Woods-Plot introduction:The novel is told through the stories of numerous people who are somehow connected to a town in Ireland by the name of Rossmore. The town faces a major dilemma as news surfaces that a new highway is being built through the area, which could threaten to disrupt the peaceful and...
(2006) - Heart and SoulHeart and Soul (novel)Heart and Soul is a 2008 novel by Irish novelist Maeve Binchy, about a heart clinic in Dublin and the people involved with it. Several characters from Binchy's previous novels, including Evening Class and Quentins, make appearances....
(2008) - Minding Frankie (2010)
Short story collections
Binchy has also published several short story collections, including:- Central LineCentral LineThe Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
(1978) - Victoria LineVictoria LineThe Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
(1980) - Dublin 4 (1981)
- London Transports (1983)
- The Lilac BusThe Lilac BusThe Lilac Bus is a collection of interrelated short stories by the writer Maeve Binchy, first published in 1984. The stories were later republished, along with the earlier collection Dublin 4, in The Lilac Bus: Stories....
(1984) - Story Teller: Collection of Short Stories (1990)
- Dublin People (1993)
- Cross Lines (1996)
- This Year It Will Be Different: And Other Stories (1996)
- The Return Journey (1998)
Other works
- Star Sullivan (2006) (a novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
) - The Builders (2002)(a novellaNovellaA novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
) - Deeply Regretted By (a playPlay (theatre)A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
) - Aches and PainsAches and PainsAches and Pains, is a self-help book by Irish author Maeve Binchy.Binchy mixes humour, common sense, and anecdote in her attempt to raise her reader's spirits....
(1999) (non-fictionNon-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
) - A Time to Dance (2006) (non-fictionNon-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
) - The Maeve Binchy Writer's Club (2008) (non-fictionNon-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
) - Finbar's Hotel (contributor)
- Ladies Night at Finbar's Hotel (contributor)
- Irish Girls About Town (2002) (editor with Cathy KellyCathy KellyCathy Kelly is a Northern Irish internationally best-selling author of female fiction. She is a former journalist.Kelly is one of the largest women's authors to come out of Northern Ireland along with Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern, having once outsold both Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling in the UK....
and Marian KeyesMarian KeyesMarian Keyes is an Irish Book Awards-winner Irish novelist and non-fiction writer, best known for her work in women's literature. She has sold over more 22 million copies worldwide and been translated into 32 languages...
).