Maeve Binchy (28 May 1940 – 30 July 2012)

"Bestselling Irish author Maeve Binchy, one of Ireland's most popular writers who sold more than 40 million books worldwide, has died in Dublin after a brief illness, Irish media and national leaders said. She was 72 years old. She was best known for her depictions of human relationships and their crises, mainly in the small towns of Ireland but also in London. 'We have lost a national treasure,' said Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny."
— Robert Barr, AP (via Huffington Post)
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"Together with Stephen King (I have an eclectic reading taste), Binchy is the author who, for me, bridged the gap between childhood reading and adult. Her novels, starting with Light a Penny Candle, and the travails and troubles of best friends Aisling and Elizabeth, were my introduction to the emotional dramas of adulthood. An ancient copy of Circle of Friends (this time the best friends are 'big, soft-featured Benny, an adored only daughter, and Eve, the little bird-like orphan brought up by the nuns', still rests on my shelves today, and looking at Binchy's bibliography, I've read well over half of them."
— Alison Flood, The Guardian
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Buy all of Maeve Binchy's books here...