Maeve Binchy

In the Irish town of Schancarrig, the young carve their initials--and those of their loves-into the copper beech tree in front of the schoolhouse. But not even Father Gunn, the parish priest, who knows most of what goes on behind Shancarrig's closed doors, or Dr. Jims, the village doctor, who knows all the rest, realizes that not everything in the placid village is what it seems.

A story of family, friends, patients, and staff who are part of a heart clinic in a community caught between the old and the new in Ireland.

"From Maeve Binchy's earliest writings to the most recent, her work . . . shows us that times may have changed, but people often remain the same: they fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they have hopes and dreams; they have deep, long-standing friends whose secrets are shared; they go on holidays and celebrate new jobs. . . 'A few of the Girls' is a . . . collection of the very best of her short story writing, stories that were written over the decades...

The town of Rossmore is divided when a new motorway threatens Whitethorn Woods and St. Ann's Well where generations have come to make wishes.

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." Not everyone, however, shares their optimism. Cathy's mother-in-law disapproves of both Cathy and her new "hobby," while Cathy's husband Neil pays no mind to anything - except his work as a civil rights lawyer. And then there's Tom's family,...

Ella Brady wants to tell the story of a generation and of a city, Dublin, through the history of a restaurant named Quentins. As she uncovers more of the story for her documentary, she begins to wonder if some stories are too sacred to tell.

Collects the best of the author's essays from five decades of the "Irish Times" to reflect a changing culture as well as her observations on such topics as the royal wedding, waitressing, and boring airline companions.