Anne Maeve Binchy Snell was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. Her novels were characterised by a sympathetic and often humorous portrayal of small-town life in Ireland, and surprise endings. Her novels, which were translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her death at age 73, announced by Vincent Browne on Irish television late on 30 July 2012, was mourned as the death of one of Ireland's best-loved and most recognisable writers.
The Glass Lake is a 1994 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. The action takes place in a rural Irish village as well as in London in the 1950s. It is notable as the last of Binchy's novels to be set in the 1950s. Binchy explores the roles of women in Irish society and inconstant lovers, and uses an operatic plot to hold the reader's attention.
Gillies MacKinnon is a Scottish film director, writer and painter. He attended the Glasgow School of Art where he studied mural painting. Following this he became an art teacher and cartoonist, and about this time he traveled with a nomadic tribe in the Sahara for six months.
Evening Class is a 1996 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. It was adapted as the award-winning film Italian for Beginners (2000) by writer-director Lone Scherfig, who failed to formally acknowledge the source, although at the very end of the closing credits is the line 'with thanks to Maeve Binchy'.
Quentins is a 2002 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. The title refers to Quentins Restaurant, a fictional upscale dining establishment in central Dublin, Ireland. The restaurant was referenced numerous times in previous Binchy titles; this novel explores its 30-year history as well as the lives of its patrons. The novel was produced as a BBC Word for Word audiobook in 2003.
Scarlet Feather is a 2000 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. It was the winner of the 2001 WH Smith Literary Award for Fiction.
Light a Penny Candle is a 1982 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. Her debut novel, it follows the friendship between an English girl and an Irish girl over the course of three decades, beginning with the English girl's stay in Ireland during the Blitz. It is one of Binchy's best-known novels.
Circle of Friends is a 1990 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. Set in Dublin, as well as in the fictitious town of Knockglen in rural Ireland during the 1950s, the story centres on a group of university students. The novel was adapted into a 1995 feature film directed by Pat O'Connor.
Tara Road is a 2005 film directed by Gillies MacKinnon. It is based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Maeve Binchy.
The Copper Beech is a 1992 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the storyline follows the lives of eight characters and those closest to them living in a small Irish town, in chapters with interlocking plot elements. Reviews are positive about this novel with an unusual structure.
The Playboys is a 1992 Irish film directed by Gillies MacKinnon and starring Albert Finney, Aidan Quinn and Robin Wright. The plot follows an unwed young mother whose life is transformed with the arrival of a travelling troupe of actors to her Irish village. The script was written by Shane Connaughton, an Oscar nominee for My Left Foot. The film was shot in his native village Redhills, in County Cavan, Ireland.
Echoes is a 1985 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. As Binchy's second novel, it explores various themes of Irish small-town life, including social classes and expectations, the paucity of educational opportunities before the introduction of free secondary education in 1967, and women's roles. A four-part television miniseries was adapted from the novel in 1988.
Nights of Rain and Stars is a 2004 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy.
Deeply Regretted By... is a 1978 television play starring Joan O'Hara and Donall Farmer, with the script being written by Maeve Binchy. The movie is based upon the Binchy story Death of Kilburn that ran in The Irish Times and deals with issues of bigamy and emigration.
Gordon Snell is a British author of children's literature and scriptwriter. He was married to Irish author Maeve Binchy from 1977 until her death in 2012. He lives in the home that he shared with his late wife in Dalkey, outside of Dublin, Ireland.
Harper McCaskill is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street portrayed by Ria Vandervis. She made her first screen appearance on the 1 May 2013. She was introduced as close friend to established character, Sarah Potts, who had returned after working in New York. Her storylines have focused on her relationships including her lesbian fling with Nicole Miller and the most notable being her love triangle with characters Boyd Rolleston and Drew McCaskill. Her most recent storylines have seen her suffer from Addison's Disease, and try to battle for Billie's custody after separating from Drew McCaskill, but was later put on hold as she was discovered to have an aggressive brain tumour that need to be removed.
Minding Frankie is a 2010 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy.
Silver Wedding is a 1988 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. Set in London, Dublin, and the west of Ireland in the year 1985, the novel explores the lives and inner feelings of a couple and their family and friends who are about to celebrate the couple's 25th wedding anniversary.
Chestnut Street is a 2014 short story collection by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. It was published posthumously by her husband, Gordon Snell. It contains 36 short stories, the majority never before published, which Binchy had written over a period of decades. Each story centers around a different resident or family living on or connected to the fictional Chestnut Street in Dublin.
Geraldine O'Neill is an internationally published author living in Ireland since 1991, but originally from Scotland. She primarily writes historical fiction novels.
Ireland 