Maeve Binchy, 1940-2012

Novelist Maeve Binchy has died at the age of 72. Beloved by her many fans since her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, was published in 1983, her heartwarming novels and short stories are set in Ireland, London, and Greece, and are known for their well-drawn characters and good storytelling. Tara Road was the first novel to have a million copy first printing, and was later made into a movie, as was Circle of Friends. She delighted her readers by coming out of retirement in 2002 and wrote five more books. Her book for aspiring writers, Maeve Binchy Writer’s Club, contains some short stories readers may have missed. Minding Frankie was her most recent book; see my review here. Brenda