She published her debut novel Light a Penny Candle in 1982.

Her literary career began with two books of short stories: Central Line (1978) and Victoria Line (1980). Recognised for her 'total absence of malice' and generosity to other writers, she finished ahead of Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Stephen King in a 2000 poll for World Book Day.'.In all, Binchy published 16 novels, four short-story collections, a play and a novella. market, featuring on The New York Times best-seller list and in Oprah's Book Club. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Edna O'Brien and Roddy Doyle. Her books have outsold those of other Irish writers such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, W. Her novels, which were translated into 37 languages, sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, and her death, announced by Vincent Browne on Irish television late on 30 July 2012, was mourned as the passing of Ireland's best-loved and most recognisable writer. From Wikipedia: 'Maeve Binchy Snell ( 30 July 2012), known as Maeve Binchy, was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker best known for her humorous take on small-town life in Ireland, her descriptive characters, her interest in human nature and her often clever surprise endings. These and many more wend their way through a story of love and heartbreak and laughter-Maeve Binchy at her most beguiling. Meanwhile, around them, a magical supporting cast of classic Binchy characters weaves its spell: a comically dreadful but endearing set of twin children a lonely man looking for the foster daughter he had to hand back to her real parents years earlier the glamorous aunt whose financial backing of Scarlet Feather has a dubious source.

Against a background of hilarious catering triumphs and disasters, these key relationships begin to crumble, and the aphrodisiac of shared business trials and tribulations starts its inevitable work on Cathy and Tom. Tom's hopelessly obsessive love for his beautiful, ambitious model girlfriend, Marcella, and Cathy's increasingly distant marriage to Neil, form the heart of the emotional tangles in the story.

Hannah is furious that her clever lawyer son, Neil, should have married her maid's daughter, and is even more outraged when Cathy sets up Scarlet Feather with Tom. In particular Lizzie cleans the house of Cathy's mother-in-law, the fearsome Hannah Mitchell. Cathy's father is an inveterately optimistic gambler on the horses, and her mother, Lizzie, is a domestic cleaner. Tom is the son of a builder and his fanatically devout wife, both of whom are disappointed that he hasn't joined the family building firm. Scarlet Feather is set in contemporary Dublin, and is the story of Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather, who go into business together as caterers.

Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy