Maeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between urban and rural life, the contrasts between England and Ireland, and the dramatic changes in Ireland between World War II and the present day. Her novel Circle of Friends was made into a 1995 Hollywood movie starring Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver with a radical change of ending. In 1978, Binchy won a Jacob's Award for her RTÉ play, Deeply Regretted By.
