The beloved Irish writer Maeve Binchy (1939-2012) worked briefly as a teacher before joining The Irish Times, where her columns displayed the same warmth and wit and eye for detail that would later inform her novels and short stories. Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, was published in 1982. She went on to write more than 20 bestselling books. Since her death a number of story collections, have appeared posthumously, including Chestnut Street and A Few of the Girls.