Maeve Binchy – Tuesday 28 May 1940 – still living as of this post

Introduction

I must confess that I have not read Circle of Friends; I only have seen the movie. My book collection contains several additional Maeve Binchy novels and a collection of short stories that I obtained at a garage sale – they haven’t been read either. Time to do a Binchy reading project.

Dedication in Circle of Friends

“To dearest Gordon with all my love”

Excerpt from Chapter One of Circle of Friends

“Benny’s father ran Hogan’s Outfitters, the big menswear shop in the middle of Knockglen. The shop was often at its busiest on a Saturday, when the farmers came in, or the men who had a half day themselves were marched in by wives to have themselves fitted out by Mr. Hogan, or Mike the old assistant, the tailor who had been there since time immemorial. Since the days when young Mr. Hogan had bought the business.

Benny was glad her father would be there for the cake, because that was when she might be given her present. Father had said it was going to be a wonderful surprise. Benny knew that they must have got her the velvet dress with the lacy collar and the pumps to go with it. She had wanted it since last Christmas when they went to the pantomime in Dublin and she had seen the girls on the stage dancing in pink velvet dresses like this.

They had heard that they sold them in Clerys, and that was only a few minutes from where the bus stopped when it went to Dublin.

Benny was large and square, but she wouldn’t look like that in the pink velvet dress. She would be just like the fairy dancers they had seen on the stage, and her feet wouldn’t look big and flat in those shoes because they had lovely pointy toes, and little pom-poms on them.

The invitations to the party had been sent out ten days ago. There would be seven girls from school, farmers’ daughters mainly from outside Knockglen. And Maire Carroll, whose mother and father owned the grocery. The Kennedys from the chemist’s were all boys so they wouldn’t be there, and Dr. Johnson’s children were all too young so they couldn’t come either. Peggy Pine who ran the smart clothes shop said that she might have her young niece staying with her. Benny said she didn’t want anyone they didn’t know, and it was with some relief that they heard the niece Clodagh didn’t want to go amongst strangers either.”


Yesterday’s writer – Jane Austen
Tomorrow’s writer – Pearl S. Buck

UPDATE: Maeve Binchy died on Monday 30 July 2012 in Dublin, Ireland

Source: Binchy, Maeve. Circle of Friends. Dell Publishing, November 1991. ISBN 0-440-21126-3. Excerpt: pages 3-4

Images:

Left: Front cover of my personal copy of Circle of Friends

Center: Maeve Binchy from the website maevebinchy.com