Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy (1940-2012) was born in Dublin and studied history at the city's university. She taught at girls' schools for many years while writing travel articles during her vacations. In 1969, she began writing her own column for the "Irish Times." She authored several novels, including "Light a Penny Candle," "Echoes," "Firefly Summer," "The Copper Beach," "Glass Lake," "Circle of Friends," "The Lilac Bus," "Tara Road" (which sold over a million copies), "Scarlet Feather," "Quentins," and "Nights of Rain and Stars," many of which were adapted for television and film. In 1999, she was honored with the British Lifetime Achievement Award, and thirteen of her works were included in the most-read books of the year in the "Yearbook Sales Record 2000." The Peacock Theatre in Dublin has staged her plays ("End of Term" and "Half Promised Land"), while her television work "Deeply Regretted by" won two Jacobs Awards and the Best Script Award at the Prague Film Festival. Maeve Binchy is considered one of the most important contemporary Irish authors, continuing the great literary tradition of her country. She was married to journalist and writer Gordon Snell. She passed away in Dublin on July 30, 2012, after a short illness, at the age of 72.