TV review: Maeve Binchy documentary was an affectionate portrait of much-loved writer
The late Maeve Binchy in 2000. Picture: Eamonn Farrell
‘The wonderful thing about Maeve’s journalism was that it wasn’t shaped – it was peopled,’ says broadcaster Olivia O’Leary, shortly into this affectionate documentary about Maeve Binchy’s life and legacy. “The people would jump out at you.”
Before Binchy was a novelist, she was a journalist – and before that again, a teacher. Her ability to talk with and observe people is what gave her writing such richness and humanity.
As editor of the women’s page at The Irish Times in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, Binchy recruited a new generation of talented female journalists and quietly developed the page into the paper’s most progressive wing. Her 1977 piece, ‘Anna’s abortion’, was groundbreaking in how it depicted one Irishwoman’s experience in a non-judgemental and humane way.
“She was often dismissed as chicklit and the people who dismissed her were the very people who’d never actually read a word,” observes her literary agent, Christine Green.
Her fans are legion – she has sold 43 million books worldwide – and include such diverse figures as Tom Hanks, Barbara Bush and Oprah Winfrey, who selected Tara Road (this writer’s first Maeve) for her influential book club in 1999.
At the centre of the documentary is Maeve’s husband Gordon Snell: a quiet, serene presence, often pictured stroking his cat, Audrey, or sitting at the long desk he shared with Maeve in their Dalkey home. “The more local you write, the more universal you become,” he remarks, when asked about Maeve’s extraordinary popular appeal.
With contributions from authors, journalists, and academics, the documentary effectively conveys Binchy’s legacy and how it continues to evolve.
In fact, Binchy remains such a part of the culture that it’s hard to believe that she’s been gone ten years now. Use of footage from home videos and audio of Maeve’s interviews ensures that she is very present, and it is apt that the documentary closes with her niece, Sarah Binchy, reading advice from her aunt: ‘Learn to type. Learn to drive … Write quickly; taking longer doesn’t usually make it better. Get up early … Don’t fuss, never brood. Move on. Don’t wait for permission to be happy. Don’t wait for permission to do anything. Make your own life.’
