Maeve's times : in her own words : selected writings from the Irish Times

Five decades of selected writings from the Irish Times by the beloved and best-selling author, filled with her hallmark humor, candor, and wisdom-a timeless gift to her legion of fans. Maeve Binchy once confessed: "As someone who fell off a chair not long ago trying to hear what they were saying at the next table in a restaurant, I suppose I am obsessively interested in what some might consider the trivia of other people's lives." She was an accidental journalist, yet from the beginning, her writings reflected the warmth, wit, and keen human interest that readers would come to love in her fiction. From the royal wedding to boring airplane companions, Samuel Beckett to Margaret Thatcher, "senior moments" to life as a waitress, Maeve's Times gives us wonderful insight into a changing Ireland as it celebrates the work of one of our best-loved writers in all its diversity-revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humor, and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter. “Binchy’s wry, self-effacing style reminds one of a Celtic Nora Ephron. . . . [She] throws a spotlight on strong, imperfect women confronting complicated challenges.” — The Christian Science Monitor Collects The Best Of The Author's Essays From Five Decades Of The Irish Times To Reflect A Changing Culture As Well As Her Observations On Such Topics As The Royal Wedding, Waitressing, And Boring Airline Companions. Sixties. School Outing ; Just Plane Bores ; But Does Anybody Care? ; A Turkish Bath ; Life As A Waitress ; Back To School ; Thinking About Underwear Down Under ; The Nonsense Of Etiquette -- Seventies. The World's Greatest Lies About Women ; Baby Blue ; Women Are Fools-- Mary ; Women Are Fools-- Lorraine ; Women Are Fools-- Sandy ; Pageantry And Splendour At Westminster For The Royal Wedding ; How To Speak Proper ; Who Sent This Postcard? ; Holiday Romance ; I Was A Winter Sport ; Keeping Faith With My Dear, Dear Dublin ; The Couple Who Behaved Perfectly ; A Snatch At Some Happiness ; Vanity Of Vanity, All Is Vanity ; A Nice, Traditional, Normal Sort Of Patrick's Day ; The Day We Nearly Wrote A Sex Book ; A Week Of Self-improvement ; Violet ; Anna's Abortion ; Idiotic Queues ; Bathroom Joggers ; Happy Hypochondria ; The Man In South Anne Street ; A Magic Meeting ; Do It Honestly Or Not At All ; Hope And Bitter Memories ; Numbed Dover Waits For Lists Of The Dead --^ Eighties. The Right To Die In Your Own Home ; When Beckett Met Binchy ; Fit For A Queen ; Contraceptive Conversation ; The Happy Couple ; Encounters At The Airport ; Up In The Clouds With Charlie Haughey ; Election Brings Life To An Ageing Society ; Maeve's Operation : The Whole Story ; Keeping Cruise Off The Roads Is New Priority ; Develop Your Own Style ; One Eye On Bargains, One Eye On Alsatians ; A Tipperary Robin Hood ; Maeve On Margaret Thatcher ; No Fags, No Food-- It's No Fun Being Fergie ; It Was One Of Those Custard Heart Days ; The Man Who Set Up Office In The Ladies ; A Royal Romance Spelling Danger From The Start ; Making A Spectacle Of Myself ; Madam Is Paying? --^ Nineties. Even The Presidents Are Getting Younger ; My Theodora Story ; Heading For The Hustings ; Please Don't Forget To Write ; Casually Elegant Meets The Mob ; They'll Never Let Her Go ; There Is No Excuse ; Fear Of Falling Off The Wagon ; Getting It Right At The End ; For Tired Read Terrible ; Traveller's Tales-- The Call Of The Check-in Desk ; Love's Last Day Out ; A Walk On The Wild Side ; Peter Panic Attack ; Little Person! Tiny Person! ; Fighting February ; She Didn't Do So Badly ; Curmudgeons Of Summer ; The Fall ; Let's Talk Gridlock ; 'they've Gone And Dumped Portillo...' ; Mrs Perfect ; Death In Kilburn ; Saved By The Wiles Of Cupid ; Just Don't Ask ; Bleach Sniffers On My Desk ; Talking To Various Ships Passing In The Night ; Sweet Dreams ; Staving Off The Senior Moments --^ 2000s. Mr Gageby... ; Another World For The Price Of A Cup Of Coffee ; 'one Up For The Cardigans' ; My Part In The Movies ; Striking A Pose For My Country ; Ten Things You Must Never Say To Anyone With Arthritis ; What's It Like To Have A House Full Of Film Crew? Let Me Tell You All About It ; Will And Kate Show Is Testament To Abiding Allure Of The Royals -- Postscript. 'i Don't Have Any Regrets About Any Roads I Didn't Take...' (in Conversation With Joanne Hunt). Maeve Binchy ; Edited By Róisín Ingle ; Introduction By Gordon Snell. Selected Essays As Published In The Irish Times Over Fifty Years. Maeve Binchy's much-loved Irish Times writings spanned five decades. An accidental journalist whose work first appeared after her father sent in colourful accounts he had received from her travels, from the beginning her writings reflected the warmth, wit and keen human interest that readers would come to love in her fiction. This timeless collection celebrates the work of the world's best-loved writer, in all its diversity, revealing her characteristic directness, laugh-out-loud humour and unswerving gaze into the true heart of a matter.