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Maeve Binchy

メイヴ・ビンチー

Meivu Binchī

Aliases: Anne Maeve Binchy / Anne Maeve Binchy Snell

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1939-05-28 （Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland）
Died
2012-07-30 （Dublin, Ireland） age 73
Nationality
Irish
Languages
English
Religion
Agnostic (formerly Catholic)
Residence History
Dalkey, Ireland → London, United Kingdom → Dalkey, Ireland

Career

Occupations
novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, journalist, teacher
Active Years
1970-2012
Affiliations
The Irish Times
Influenced
John Banville, Roddy Doyle

Education

University College Dublin
History
Degree: 学士（歴史）
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: Ireland
Bachelor's degree in History
Holy Child Killiney
Country: Ireland
Private girls' school

Awards

Jacob's Award
1978
Work: Deeply Regretted By...
Category: テレビドラマ
Organization: RTÉ
Result: 受賞
British Book Award for Lifetime Achievement
1999
Organization: WH Smith / Galaxy National Book Awards
Result: 受賞
People of the Year Award
2000
Result: 受賞
W H Smith Book Award for Fiction
2001
Work: Scarlet Feather
Category: フィクション
Organization: W H Smith
Result: 受賞
Irish PEN/AT Cross Award
2007
Organization: Irish PEN
Result: 受賞
Irish Book Award for Lifetime Achievement
2010
Result: 受賞
Irish Book Award
2012
Work: A Week in Winter
Category: アイルランド人気フィクション部門
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Circle of Friends

1990 Fiction

Set in 1950s Ireland, about friendship, love, and small-town life.

friendshiploveIrish small-town life
Adaptations
  • [Film] Circle of Friends / Pat O'Connor (1995)

Tara Road

1998 Fiction

Story of two women who swap houses.

friendshipfamilychange
Adaptations
  • [Film] Tara Road / Pat O'Connor (2005)

Scarlet Feather

2000 Fiction

A couple starting a catering business in Dublin.

entrepreneurshipfriendshipromance

A Week in Winter

2012 Fiction

Stories intersecting at a hotel in Ireland. Posthumous.

human relationshipshealingIreland

Bibliography

  • My First Book
  • Light a Penny Candle
  • Echoes
  • Firefly Summer
  • Silver Wedding
  • Circle of Friends
  • The Copper Beech
  • The Glass Lake
  • Evening Class
  • Tara Road
  • Scarlet Feather
  • Quentins
  • Nights of Rain and Stars
  • Whitethorn Woods
  • Heart and Soul
  • Minding Frankie
  • A Week in Winter
  • Chestnut Street

Adaptations

  • Circle of Friends (1995 film)
  • Tara Road (2005 film)
  • How About You (2007 film)

Translations of Works

  • Translated into 37 languages

Style & Themes

Literary Style
sympathetic and humorous portrayaleveryday Irish lifesurprise endings
Recurring Motifs
small-town life in Irelandurban-rural contrastsinterwoven relationships

Health

  • heart condition
    2002年頃
    Inspired the novel Heart and Soul
  • osteoarthritis
    晩年
    Required hip operation, caused pain
  • discitis
    2012年
    Severe spinal infection, contributed to death

Legacy

Beloved Irish novelist whose books sold over 40 million copies in 37 languages. Featured in Oprah's Book Club and NYT bestsellers. Mourned as a national treasure upon death.

In Popular Culture

  • Tara Road selected for Oprah's Book Club
  • Memorial garden at Dalkey Library

Quotes

  • It's not so hard to be a writer. Just write a letter home.
    Source: Vulture interview
  • Life was all about laughter.
    Source: The Irish Times (2012)

Trivia

  • Stood 6 feet 1 inch tall
  • One of Ireland's richest writers
  • Kibbutz stay in Israel sparked writing career