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Summary
Summary
Scarlet Feather
Author Notes
Maeve Binchy was born in Dublin, Ireland on May 28, 1940. She received a B.A. from University College in Dublin in 1960. After teaching at a school for girls, she became a journalist, columnist and editor at the Irish Times. By 1979, she was writing plays, a successful television script, and several short story collections.
Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, was published in 1982. During her lifetime, she wrote more than 20 books including Silver Wedding, Scarlet Feather, Heart and Soul, Minding Frankie, and A Week in Winter. The Lilac Bus and Echoes were made into TV movies, while Circle of Friends, Tara Road and How About You were made into feature films. Her title Chestnut Street is a New York Times Best Seller. She died after a brief illness on July 30, 2012 at the age of 72.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestselling author Binchy (Tara Road, etc.) again explores the depths of family relationships in an 11th warm, involving drama. Set in contemporary Ireland over a period of one year, the smartly paced tale focuses on Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather, cooking school chums who achieve their dream of opening a posh catering business, Scarlet Feather, in Dublin. Professionally, they're off to a good start; personally, their lives are falling apart. Cathy, whose out-of-work father plays the races while her mother toils as a housemaid, faces the consequences of having married Neil Mitchell, prized son of an upper-class family who employed Cathy's mother for years. Neil, a lawyer who champions worthy causes, is unconcerned about the tension between his wife and his snooty mother, and Cathy and Neil find themselves leading busy, separate lives. Tom has a live-in girlfriend whom he would love to marry, but Marcella, a manicurist in a classy store, yearns to succeed as a model before making any commitments. A charming cast of secondary characters includes Neil's cousins, Simon and Maud, two abandoned, nine-year-old twins who, in a surprising turn of events, come to live with Cathy's parents. The children's deadpan, exceedingly serious outlook on life is both heartbreaking and hilarious. One of Binchy's strengths is her subtle depiction of gradual changes in Irish society. By making her principal characters entrepreneurs, she reflects the ways Ireland's growing economic prosperity has altered social mores. Whether her readers are aware of such details, they help this wonderfully engaging book ring true. (Mar. 5). Forecast: Binchy's gift for creating a wide range of characters whose foibles and challenges make them lovable and real, coupled with her theme that genuine love can transform lives, add up to another crowd-pleaser. With major ad/promo, plus an author tour, this one is a lock for the charts. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Another entertaining tale of contemporary Ireland with a big gathering of representative typesthe addicted, the lonely, the unhappywhose lives connect as two chefs start a catering business and cope with crises in work and love. The story begins on New Years Eve and follows the major players through the following year. Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have been good friends ever since they met at catering school. Tired of doing events out of their own small kitchens, they want a place with an office, as well as enough storage room for a joint company. Cathy is married to Neil Mitchell, an idealistic lawyer, whose mother Hannah cannot forgive Cathy, the daughter of the Mitchells former housekeeper, for marrying her son. Soon after her latest acrimonious encounter with her mother-in-law, Cathy and Tom find the ideal premises for Scarlet Feather. While they complete the necessary renovations and begin drumming up business, their lives are complicated by family problems. Cathy finds herself taking care of nine-year-old twins Simon and Maud, who have been abandoned by their parents, Neils uncle and aunt; planning a wedding for her sister; and dealing with Neils obsession with his work and her unexpected pregnancy. In the meantime, Tom breaks up with his girlfriend Marcella, who heads for London and the modeling career shes dreamed of. Scarlet Feather is robbed and vandalized. Then, as Christmas nears, Cathy suffers a miscarriage, and Neils cool response leads her to question her marriage. As their debts mount, Scarlet Feather faces bankruptcy. But the twins, now living with Cathys parents, miraculously save the day, and the new year begins with the abundant promise of good things for those deserving few. More a buffet with lots of variety and a few standouts than a thematically distinctive menu, but Binchy still serves up a narrative feast.
Booklist Review
Prolific Irish writer Binchy's latest novel is maddeningly slow to get started. Eventually, though, the novel builds in speed and force until it is nearly impossible to put it down. What initially slows the reader down is the vast detail, but it soon becomes obvious that Binchy is layering her story with nuances and shaping her characters with shading and dimension. The setting is contemporary Dublin; the cast of characters is large, chief among them two partners in the brand-new catering business Scarlet Feather. The name is a combination of their own: Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather. Cathy is married to the son of the woman who used to employ her mother as housekeeper; Tom is involved in a problematic relationship. Around them swirl their individual and coupled worlds, centering on family members with all kinds of problems and issues. Cathy's husband's mother is caught up in social prestige; Cathy's parents are dutifully and generously taking care of two troublesome children to whom they are not even related; and Cathy's husband himself presents a sore spot, because he has a job consuming all his time, energy, and interest. In the meantime, Cathy and Tom are looking for a building to house their growing enterprise, only to have the place vandalized once they have set it up. Binchy writes domestic drama at its most realistic and moving, and her adoring fans will appreciate her latest work. --Brad Hooper
Library Journal Review
Pals Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather are pleased with their new Dublin-based catering business, Scarlet Feather, but her mother-in-law and his parents are voicing doubts. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.