Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy

For those not familiar with the work of Maeve Binchy I'll tell you a bit about her first. She is an Irish lady based in Dublin and has been writing for a few years now a few of her novels have been turned into movies such as the Liliac bus and Circle of friends. I read in an interview once that before she begins writing her novels she draws up a map of the ficticious town that her book centres round and visualises where each character lives and the home that they live in. Her frist novel light a penny candle was published in 1982 and she won thebritish book award for lifetime achievement in 1999 so you can tell that she is a great authour. But ...  Read the complete review

Another lovely Irish saga from Maeve Binchy. Set in modern day Dublin, Scarlet Feather chronicals the difficult early days of setting up a catering business. As the book progressess Cathy and Tom face many hurdles in both their business and personal lives. Will their relationships survive the strain put upon them by the long hours they are forced to work? There is an extra interest in two young children, relations of Cathy's husband who are abandoned by their parents who later want them back. Will they return happily to the bosom of Cathy's family, or will they remain with their parents who neglect them? This is one of those books which ...  Read the complete review

Many readers and fans of Maeve Binchy may not know this is the last novel that she says that she is going to write. If that is the case this book is surely a good buy. Originally, when I began reading this book I just couldn't get in to it. But as I got further into the characters and there seemed quite a few, I could not put it down. Two young people, a married woman and a man involved with a beautiful wanna-be model have graduated from cooking school and with the help of a couple of family members they start their own catering company called "Scarlet Feather". When their bright new business is broken into and viciously destroyed the real ...  Read the complete review

This is Maeve Binchy’s last novel. It is set in Dublin in the present day, and is the story of Cathy and Tom, who struggle to set up a catering business. The tale follows the ups and downs of their business and the people they interact with. The book is about relationships – husband and wife, wife and mother-in-law, a variety of people with children, between colleagues and friends. Ms Binchy explores these multilayered relationships in her usual sensitive and heartwarming way. Once again I found myself sucked in by the story and quite unable to put it down until I had finished it. This is no example of heavy literature, but the storyteller has ...  Read the complete review

I do hope Maeve Binchy changes her mind and decides to write another novel. I would hate for Scarlet Feather to be her last. Binchy fans will enjoy the novel, of course, but we also realize that there's something missing. Readers experience characters and become part of them and their lives in the true Binchy style; however, this novel could just as well be set in the U.S. It is missing that Irish soul that sets Maeve Binchy novels apart. Scarlet Feather is well worth the read, but it will not take your heart where Binchy's previous works do. ...  Read the complete review