“Of course, I should have done what doctors said and walked for miles every day and not eaten great amounts of butter. But then, life is life, and if we all did what they said we should do, it would be a different world.”

Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker

Maeve Binchy was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. Born Anne Maeve Binchy Snell, she wrote in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and became known for fiction rooted in Irish life. Her novels often portray small-town Ireland with sympathy and a light, humorous touch, and many end with a surprise. They were translated into 37 languages and sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. Her death at 73 in 2012 was widely mourned in Ireland, where she was regarded as a much loved and easily recognised writer.