Goodbye to a beloved author and namesake

The first time I read a Maeve Binchy book, I think I was about ten or eleven. It was Circle of Friends, one of her best-known books and an enduring favourite of mine. Over the years, I've read just about every book of hers, or at least all the ones I could get my hands on. I have several of her novels on my bookshelves, although I buy them second-hand. And, of course, I named my darling Maeve Catherine after her (and my mom). So it was with tremendous sadness that I learned of Ms. Binchy's passing yesterday at the age of seventy-two. I actually took the step of writing to this treasured author, who had no children of her own, shortly after my Maeve was born. I never got a reply, but I'm so glad that I sent it anyway, given that her life briefly overlapped with that of my precious baby girl, who is now nine months old. Here is what the letter said:

Dear Ms. Binchy,

I am a great admirer of your work, and have read all of your books, many of them several times over. When you gave a talk at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa (my hometown) many years ago, I had you sign a copy of my favourite novel, Circle of Friends; I must have been about 12 years old at the time. Anyway, I wanted to write and tell you that on October 27^th 2011, I gave birth to a baby girl, and my husband and I named her Maeve, after you. (We also have an older daughter, Daphne, named for Daphne Du Maurier, but I didn’t write to her descendants.) It is my hope that as she grows up, my beautiful daughter will find a career she loves and that enriches her life as well as those of the people around her, and that she will enjoy a long, happy marriage, just like you. In turn, our little Maeve also has parents who think she’s just wonderful.

Warmest regards,

Becky