Maeve Binchy Fans discussion
What order would you recommend reading her books in?
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Marselle
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Apr 28, 2013 09:40AM
I have read a few of her books and loved them and noticed characters keep reappearing. Is the order written the best order to read them in?
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Hi Marselle ... Yes it is best to read in the order they are written ... I would start with evening class, tara road, quentins, whitethorn woods and heart and soul also have recurring characters ... The others are stand alones, firefly summer was and still is my favourite one :) it was the first book of hers that i read :) happy reading :)
Wow. I didn't know there were recurring characters. I've read Tara Road but not the others yet. Thanks a bunch for the assist. I wrote the titles and am going to start reading them in order. :)
Don't forget the older ones, too. Circle of Friends, Light a Penny Candle, Copper Beach, Firefly Summer....
so happy I found this page :) I don't usually join these groups but there was something really nice about reading about other people's love of my all time favorite author. I would start at the older stories and work my way towards the newest for sure. People you meet in the early books will show up in perfect, subtle ways later. You'll miss how happy you are to see them if you read Binchy's books out of order. They'll still all be great stories but you'll miss a cool treat. I read Firefly Summer when I was 13 at my best friends summer cottage. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. The wording and rhythm of Maeve's stories are like a warm blanket. I always wish that the world around me would start speaking like those in whatever book I happen to be reading. I am convinced there would be less obnoxious people in the world today if Maeve Binchy composed our daily interactions.
Any order - but....I would start with her first book, Light a Penny Candle and carry on from there - I found you a list:Light a Penny Candle (1982)
Echoes (1985)
Firefly Summer (1987)
Silver Wedding (1988)
Circle of Friends (1990)
The Copper Beech (1992)
The Glass Lake (1994)
Evening Class (1996)
Tara Road (1998)
Scarlet Feather (2000)
Quentins (2002)
Nights of Rain and Stars (2004)
Whitethorn Woods (2006)
Heart and Soul (2008)
Minding Frankie (2010)
A Week in Winter (2012)
I just went thru your list and what books that I do have. I require only four: light a penny, glass lake, scarlet feather, and a week in winter. However, I have two books you didn't list and was wondering where they should be inserted into the long list of books to make sure I read them all in their proper order. The extra books are: The Return Journey and This Year it Will be Different.
Thanks a bunch. :)
Oh I wish I had found this sooner! I just picked up Heart and Soul in the library on a whim, loved it and grabbed Minding Frankie without looking up an order. Love the two so far though :)
I would recommend reading all of her books from date of published. Anything written by her is always a guarantee of a good read.:-)
On her own site it says "THE LILAC BUS" as well right after Echoes.
The Return Journey and This Year it Will be Different are short story books Eleanor.
I was actualy looking for a list of hear books in Dutch. But can not find anything unfortuatly
I would recommend reading "Light a Penny Candle", & "The Lilac Bus" first. Maeve Binchy is marvelous at cleverly entwining all of the characters' stories in "The Lilac Bus", and connecting characters with whom we all fall in love. Her books remind me of a complex, beautiful quilt, or tapestry, all a bit connected, all treasured.I mourned when Maeve died, because I truly did, and still do cherish her books.
It really doesn't matter. I read them in the order I found them starting with Echoes but then more or less in order but still some to go! :) , didn't have time for 20+ years. I recommend starting with Dublin 4 (1981) and London Transports (1983). However of course I read these in the eighties maybe different for someone younger reading them,
For those interested: Maeve Binchy Echoes Writers' Festival takes place in her hometown of Dalkey, Dublin, Ireland 6-8th October 2023. See her bench, her dining spots, possibly meet Gordon Snell, her husband. Full details on the programme available https://www.echoes.ie/Love to see some of you there.
