Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Light a Penny Candle | 1982 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 2 | The Lilac Bus | 1984 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 3 | Echoes | 1985 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 4 | Firefly Summer | 1987 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 5 | Silver Wedding | 1988 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 6 | Circle of Friends | 1990 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 7 | The Copper Beech | 1992 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 8 | The Glass Lake | 1994 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 9 | Shancarrig | 1995 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 10 | Evening Class | 1996 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 11 | Tara Road | 1998 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 12 | Scarlet Feather | 2000 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 13 | Quentins | 2002 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 14 | Nights of Rain and Stars | 2004 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 15 | Whitethorn Woods | 2006 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 16 | Heart and Soul | 2008 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 17 | Minding Frankie | 2010 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 18 | A Week in Winter | 2012 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
| 19 | Sister Caravaggio | 2014 | Maeve Binchy | Buy |
Maeve Binchy’s nineteen standalone novels form the core of her literary output, published over more than three decades from 1982 to 2014. Each novel is set primarily in Ireland and tells the story of ordinary people navigating friendship, family, love, and change. Binchy had a gift for creating large casts of characters who feel real and whose lives intersect in natural, unforced ways.
Light a Penny Candle (1982) follows two young women’s friendship across twenty years. Circle of Friends (1990) and Tara Road (1998) became her most famous novels, both adapted into films. Later works like Scarlet Feather (2000), Quentins (2002), and Heart and Soul (2008) continued to explore Irish communities with the same warmth and humor. A Week in Winter (2012), published shortly after her death, chronicles the guests at an Irish inn and became her final bestseller.
Binchy’s novels can be read in any order. Each stands completely on its own, with no recurring characters or continuing plots. Readers new to her work can start anywhere, though many begin with Circle of Friends or Tara Road.