Chestnut Street

Irish author, Maeve Binchy, died in 2012 but over the years she wrote a number of short stories about families living in a fictional location in Dublin, Chestnut Street. The stories have now been collected together in one volume. Three of the stories in this compilation have been published previously but the remainder are new. The book provides a feeling of community as the relationships of people living in Chestnut Street are explored. Some of the characters appear in more than one story which helps to re-enforce that the book is not just about isolated families but about a neighbourhood. Whether the stories are happy or sad they portray a group of people trying to make the best out of what life has dealt them.

Maeve Binchy's Treasury

Published in 2011 this book is a compilation of short stories taken from This Year It Will Be Different (1997) and The Return Journey (2007) - forty three short stories in all. Christmas is the central theme in the first half of this compilation while the stories in the second half revolve around travel and or holidays. Maeve Binchy writes about families and relationships and the stories are set in Ireland, England, Europe, USA and Australia. These stories of love and loss, reconciliation and hope, understanding and self realisation are universal. Being a collection of forty-three unrelated short stories this is a book that can be dipped into by the reader to be enjoyed from time to time rather than the reader needing to read all the stories at one time.

Maeve Binchy died on 30 July 2012.

For information about Maeve Binchy and her life and books - http://www.maevebinchy.com/

Obituary: The Guardian

Obituary: New York Times

Obituary: BBC

Obituary: Irish Times

Obituary: Legacy.com

Obituary: The Independent

Obituary: The Huffington Post

Obituary: The Telegraph

Report of funeral: Huffington Post

A search on the internet will provide many more articles.

Minding Frankie

When Stella realises that she will not survive the birth of her daughter she contacts Noel Lynch and asks him, as the father of the child, to look after Frankie. Noel, a drifter and an alcoholic, appears the least likely person to bring up a child but the close family and neighbourhood network that is St Jarlath's Crescent, Dublin, provides the support mechanism required, if he will respond to it.

As with other Maeve Binchy novels, this books examines the relationships of a close community as they face the challenges of life. One of the successes of Maeve Binchy's stories is the use and development of characters and places already known to her readers as well as the introduction of new characters that become pivotal parts of the multiple stories interleaved throughout the book. New characters include Emily, the daughter of the brother of Noel's father, who visits from America and quickly becomes an important member of the local community and a catalyst for some of the stories as does Moira, the social worker appointed to look out for Frankie's interests, who faces her own family problems as she attempts to carry out her job while Lisa, attempting to establish a new life after making an unfortunate career move, finds perspective again through involvement in this close-knit St Jarlath's Crescent community. The continuation of stories introduced in earlier books further add to the involvement of the reader in the lives of well loved characters.

Maeve Binchy fans will love this addition to her continuing stories of the struggles and joys of life in suburban Dublin.

Heart and soul

Maeve Binchy once again introduces us to the lives of a cast of characters in her latest novel, Heart and Soul. A new heart clinic is opened in the grounds of St Bridget's Hospital, Dublin and the story is based on the development of the clinic during its first year and the lives of the staff and patients, their families and friends. Clara Casey - director of the centre, Declan Carroll - the centre's GP, the nurses - Barbara and Fiona, the admin officer- Hilary, Ania - an immigrant from Poland and Fr Brian Flynn are a small number of the cast of characters whose relationships are explored and interwoven in the novel. 

Regular readers of Maeve Binchy books will enjoy meeting again characters who have appeared in earlier books including Quentins, Scarlet Feather, Nights of Rain and Stars, Whitethorn Woods and Evening Class.

The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club

A number of authors have written guides to writing books. The Maeve Binchy Writers' Club was published in 2008. It is based on a twenty week course held at the National College of Ireland aimed to encourage prospective writers with the skills to start and complete a book. Each week the students were provided with a letter written by Maeve Binchy covering an aspect in the process of writing and publishing a book. A guest lecturer then conducted a session providing detailed information on a specific topic. The twenty letters written by Maeve Binchy are included along with abridged notes from ten of the lectures. Topics included Getting Started, Writers' Groups, Telling a Story, Writing Short Stories, The Writers' Agent, Finding Your Voice, The Role of the Editor, Writing as a Journalist, Publishers and writing men's fiction, for the stage, for children, crime and comedy. The book also includes a short story about a writers' group written by Maeve Binchy which illustrates some of the points made in her letters. This book is a readable introduction for aspiring writers on aspects of writing a book.