Bringing joy to thousands around the world, Maeve Binchy’s heart-warming tales of love, life and loss made her one of Ireland’s most celebrated writers. Seared with a truth and honesty that leapt from the page, her stories captured imaginations and won legions of loyal fans, all entranced by the charm and tradition of ordinary life in pastoral Ireland. There was no greater storyteller than Maeve Binchy. In this first biography of the much-loved author, Piers Dudgeon vividly describes a life at once so familiar and yet so extraordinary, played against the backdrop of Maeve’s favourite recurring character: Ireland. This was the land of her birth, the setting of her childhood and the scene of so much self-discovery. It was here that Maeve experienced the agony of adolescence, the emancipation from devout religion and the eventual acceptance of her own worth, culminating in the qualities that defined her both as a writer and a person. Drawing on extensive research and personal anecdote, Maeve Binchy: The Biography does full justice to a powerful writer who remains in the hearts of so many.