Maeve Binchy

Anne Maeve Binchy Snell 28 May 1939 – 30 July 2012 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, and 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. In all, Binchy published 16 novels, four short-story collections, a play and a novella. Her 17th novel, A Week in Winter, was published posthumously. Her literary career began with two books of short stories: Central Line (1978) and Victoria Line (1980). She published her debut novel Light a Penny Candle in 1982. In 1983, it sold for the largest sum ever paid for a first novel: £52,000. The timing was fortuitous, as Binchy and her husband were two months behind with the mortgage at the time. However, the prolific Binchy – who joked that she could write as fast as she could talk – ultimately became one of Ireland's richest women. Her first book was rejected five times. She would later describe these rejections as "a slap in the face... It's like if you don't go to a dance you can never be rejected but you'll never get to dance either".