Binchy, Maeve

A novel of a mother's secret and a daughter's courage, and their relationship that neither deceit nor death can destroy.

The chaos of World War II London sends preteen Elizabeth White to the safety of Ireland and into the lives of the much larger and emotional O'Connor family. The enduring friendship she finds with her counterpart, Aisling, forms the framework of this novel, offering clear contrasts between the two families and countries. The early chapters of Binchy's 1982 debut novel are engagingly humorous, filled with solid characterizations of these two very different but compatible adolescents. The girls sustain their friendship and distinct personalities through regular letters, but unfortunately they must grow up and the novel may strain under the conventionality of the genre and some inconsistency, perhaps due to Binchy's inexperience as an author at the time she wrote the original story. Her cousin Kate Binchy reads the book well, capturing the innocence, yearning, and growth of the girls.

They met in cooking school and became fast friends with a common dream. Now Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather hope to take Dublin by storm with their newly formed catering company, aptly dubbed "Scarlet Feather".

Noel agrees to take responsibility when he learns that his terminally ill former flame is pregnant with his child, and while the members of the town help the single father, he must prove to Moira, the nosy social worker, that the arrangement is best for baby Frankie.

After spending a year establishing and successfully running the local clinic, Doctor Clara Casey is hesitant to walk away from her rewarding position.

A collection of short stories by Irish author Maeve Binchy, telling about the lives and motivations of a group of seven people who make the commute from Dublin to the Irish country town of Rathdoon every weekend on Tom Fitgerald's lilac-colored minibus; and including four dramas of life in modern Ireland.

Brian Flynn, a Catholic priest in the small Irish town of Rossmore, decries the faith local citizens and tourists place in nearby St. Ann's Well, and he prays for guidance to really understand his parishioners' feelings when plans are announced to run a highway through Whitethorn Woods where the unofficial shrine is located.