Her first one – Light a Penny Candle – is great; very real, human characters.

Circle of Friends was my first and prompted me to keep reading Maeve Binchy’s books until there were none left. A favourite novelist of mine, she will be sorely missed.

I loved scarlet feather. It is one of those books that makes you feel lonely once you finish reading it. I found myself wondering how the characters were getting on the day after I finished it because it seemed so real.

“Circle of Friends” was my first too (in Dutch “Vrienden voor het Leven), but i’d recommend “Firefly Summer” (“Terug naar Mountfern”)

Echoes. Read it a hundred times.

Firefly Summer my favourite too but all Maeve’s books are wonderful. May she rest in peace

Light a Penny Candle is a very good place to start.

Tara road and the lavender bus… Loved the audio versions read by her cousin Kate,

All are great books but light a penny candle is my fav

The Glass Lake and Evening Clasd

It has to be ‘Circle of Friends’

I ran into Maeve Binchy’s books indirectly as I was trying to surprise Grandma with a book by an Irish writer, and I gave her “Light a Penny Candle”. She opened the gift and smiled and said how she loved Maeve’s books but couldnt remember if she read that one yet (Grandma was kind of forgetful). However, AFTER she read it, she let me read it and I was as hooked on all of Maeve’s books at that point as I was reading the first chapter of the Harry Potter books to my son when he was 6 years old….Her characters became part of your family: you always wanted to know what happens to them, and thats what made so many of her novels so much MORE enjoyable when “so and so” shows up in this new book…my favorite: Scarlet Feather….great story, a ton of characters, the crazy twins, the grandfather better, the love story, and then the fairy tale ending on St Stephen’s Day….I still cry even now knowing that she is gone,,,,such a sweet person, such a gifted writer,,,,who wouldnt miss this honey.

I mean Evening Class!

firefly Summer is far and away her best book in my opinion, I loved it

None she wrote tripe.

Light A Penny Candle is wonderful, and Firefly Summer is just gorgeous. The Glass Lake is very dark but fascinating. Circle of Friends has one of the best villainous characters in it, and a much better ending than the film version. Echoes holds up well on rereading, and The Lilac Bus has some brilliantly vivid characters.