A society hostess invites her husband's mistress to dinner. A country girl savours the delights of city life. A student faces the dilemma of unmarried pregnancy. A drink-ridden photographer tries to relaunch a shattered career.
Dublin 4 has all of Maeve Binchy's intimate grasp of human feelings, her marvellous ear for dialogue and her subtle sense of life's confusion. The stories bubble with fun and wit -- yet sometimes leave a taste of sadness.

It began with Benny Hogan and Eve Malone, growing up, inseparable, in the village of Knockglen. Benny--the only child, yearning to break free from her adoring parents...Eve--the orphaned offspring of a convent handyman and a rebellious blueblood, abandoned by her mother's wealthy family to be raised by nuns. Eve and Benny--they knew the sins and secrets behind every villager's lace curtains...except their own.
It widened at Dublin, at the university where Benny and Eve met beautiful Nan Mahlon and Jack Foley, a doctor's handsome son. But heartbreak and betrayal would bring the worlds of...

There was never any question that Deirdre and Desmond Doyle would celebrate a gala twenty-fifth anniversary. Naturally, their daughter Anna, would plan their grand affair. Of all three Doyle children, Anna knew exactly what their mother wished--even as she lived her own secret life. Will Brendan, the rebellious son, even bother to return to London? Will Helen, the hapless would-be nun, embarrass them all? This is Deirdre's day, a triumph for a woman obsessed with keeping up appearances, her silvery revenge after "marrying down" twenty-five years ago. She's determined to show them all: the...

Every day, millions of people travel on London's Underground, yet everyday life is not nearly as mundane as we think. At Notting Hill, the secretary, harbouring her secrets travels to work; at Highbury and Islington, Adam has a sudden change of heart; at Holborn, a disastrous reunion is about to take place. With her characteristic mix of humour and biting realism, Maeve Binchy enters the lives of ordinary people.

The lilac-coloured minibus belongs to Tom Fitzgerald. Each Friday night it is a meeting place for the same seven people who use it to travel home from Dublin to spend the weekend in Rathdoon. Each one has their own secret story, unknown to their fellow passengers
Once again, Maeve Binchy has conjured up a cast of very human characters with real joys and real sadnesses, portrayed with her trademark wit, compassion and warmth."

"It was sometimes called the echo cave, and if you shouted your question loud enough in the right direction, you got an answer instead of an echo..."

Clare and David--divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love--and ready to defy a world determined to keep them apart.
Even at fifteen, David Power knew the echo would answer eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize.But it was years...

Kate and John Ryan have four children, of whom the eldest are Michael and Dara. Their small town is peaceful and friendly, an unchanging background for a golden childhood. In long, hot summers Michael and Dara and their friends fish and swim or play in the ivy-clad ruins of Fernscourt, when the great house burnt down during the Troubles...

A brilliantly funny guide to the trials and tribulations of hospitals and convalescence - from No.1 bestselling author Maeve Binchy.

An old copper beech overlooks a school, and witnesses all the hopes and loves, dreams and ambitions of the children who grew up there...

A group of people, all looking for something more in their lives, and all they have in common is their Italian evening class...