On Tuesday, April 8th, Anne-Marie D. gave a wonderful presentation on well-known Irish writer Maeve Binchy. Anne-Marie’s use of a video, readings, and the Q&A period illuminated Binchy’s great sense of humour and her literary significance.

Binchy wrote about regular people, relationships, and social issues, and her style is playful, sympathetic, and humorous. Her stories, which are set primarily in small-town Ireland, are meticulously planned and give a strong sense of place. A prolific writer, Binchy wrote seventeen novels, numerous short-story collections, non-fiction, and plays. She sold more than forty million books, and her works have been translated into thirty-seven languages. 

In a video entitled “Maeve Binchy: Philosophy of Life,” Binchy states “happiness is making the best of the hand you are dealt.” Binchy was born in Dublin in 1940 and passed in 2012. She was educated at University College Dublin and became a teacher then a journalist for the Irish Times. About writing, Binchy adds, “I always enjoyed writing once I understood it was like talking, and I love talking.”

Anne-Marie shared five of Binchy’s novels: Light a Penny Candle (1982), Circle of Friends (1990), Tara Road (1998), Nights of Rain and Stars (2004), and A Week in Winter (2012). Binchy’s debut novel, Light a Penny Candle, earned a prepublication advance of £52 000: the largest sum ever paid for a British first novel. Anne-Marie’s favourite novel is Nights of Rain and Stars, which takes place in a Greek seaside village among four strangers who witness a boating accident. A Week in Winter is Binchy’s last book and was published posthumously. 

Binchy’s readers are from far and wide. In the United States, Binchy sustained great popularity and her novels earned spots on the New York Times Best Sellers list (Circle of Friends, Tara Road, and A Week in Winter) and in Oprah’s Book Club (Tara Road).

Much discussion was had during Q&A period about Binchy’s genre—popular or realistic fiction—and its significance in literature. While Binchy’s writing is not highbrow literature, Binchy has garnered an enormous international readership, who feels the much-loved author is writing about themselves. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “Binchy makes you laugh, cry, and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art.”

Posted by Mooréa G.