‘A genius who opened door for women writers’

Maeve Binchy was a genius.

She wrote books that read as fluidly as a conversation with an old friend who had lots of news and as she herself acknowledged, it takes a lot of hard work to make something look that easy.

Maeve was eagle-eyed and super-smart — she noticed everything about human beings — our nuances, our hopes, our petty vanities. But Maeve was also warm and big-hearted, and had a wicked sense of humour and it was this combination of emotional intelligence, compassion, and wit which meant she created characters who were utterly recognisable.