The Copper Beech

By the school house at Shancarrig stands a copper beech, its bark scarred with the names and dreams of the pupils who have grown up under its branches.

Under Junior Assistant Mistress Maddy Ross's careful gaze the children play, but out of school Maddy's gaze lingers where it shouldn't. Maura Brennan, a bundle of fun from the rough end of town, plays with her pals: leap year baby Eddie Barton, the apple of his mother's eye, and Nessa Ryan, who little realises as she carves his name at the roots of the copper beech on the very last day of school that she'll get a lot more from one of her schoolmates than her first shy kiss.

The copper beech is the gateway to Maeve Binchy's marvellous portrait of a small Irish town whose untroubled surface conceals the passions, rivalries, friendships, ambitions and jealousies beneath.

“'Her storytelling ability is second to none'-- SUNDAY EXPRESS”

Maeve Binchy is a master storyteller NEW YORK TIMES
You want to read Maeve Binchy's books as fast as she seems to have written them. This one fairly gallops along because her apparently spontaneous and casual manner covers masterly plotting ... It is all very satisfactory INDEPENDENT
THE COPPER BEECH is as soothing as a cup of tea PEOPLE
Binchy makes you laugh, cry, and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
Maeve Binchy's marvellous portrait of a small Irish town whose untroubled surface conceals the passions, rivalries, friendships, ambitions and jealousies beneath LOVE READING
Binchy is a consummate storyteller who involves the reader in the world she creates ... Binchy is a Dickens: she writes about the dilemmas of human beings with a backdrop which describes the manners and morals of a society ... the Binchy public will not be disappointed at story line or resolution IRISH TIMES
Binchy ... is a class act DAILY EXPRESS
Maeve Binchy's novels are just the kind of comforting companions so many women can't wait to take to bed. ...Binchy's prose flows as naturally as conversation with a good friend THE LADY
Maeve Binchy's work continues to inspire ... thought-provoking, warm and funny in equal measure WOMAN
This is Binchy at her very best, telling stories with charm, humour and pathos and giving us one of the most stunning feel-good endings I can remember MAIL ON SUNDAY

Maeve Binchy (28 May 1940 - 30 July 2012) was born in Dublin and was the London Correspondent for the Irish Times. Her first novel was Light a Penny Candle and she has now sold millions of copies of her books around the world. She is survived by her husband, Gordon Snell.

By the school house at Shancarrig stands a copper beech, its bark scarred with the names and dreams of the pupils who have grown up under its branches. Under Junior Assistant Mistress Maddy Ross's careful gaze the children play, but out of school Maddy's gaze lingers where it shouldn't. Maura Brennan, a bundle of fun from the rough end of town, plays with her pals: leap year baby Eddie Barton, the apple of his mother's eye, and Nessa Ryan, who little realises as she carves his name at the roots of the copper beech on the very last day of school that she'll get a lot more from one of her schoolmates than her first shy kiss.The copper beech is the gateway to Maeve Binchy's marvellous portrait of a small Irish town whose untroubled surface conceals the passions, rivalries, friendships, ambitions and jealousies beneath.

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