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The Copper Beech

Wonderful, nostalgic fiction from the No.1 bestselling author

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The Copper Beech

By: Maeve Binchy
Narrated by: Kate Binchy
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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.

Read by Kate Binchy

(p) 1993 Audible Ltd©1992 Maeve Binchy Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Small Town & Rural Romance Feel-Good
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Critic reviews

Maeve Binchy is a master storyteller
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
THE COPPER BEECH is as soothing as a cup of tea
Binchy makes you laugh, cry, and care. Her warmth and sympathy render the daily struggles of ordinary people heroic and turn storytelling into art
Maeve Binchy's marvellous portrait of a small Irish town whose untroubled surface conceals the passions, rivalries, friendships, ambitions and jealousies beneath
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
Binchy ... is a class act
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
Maeve Binchy's work continues to inspire ... thought-provoking, warm and funny in equal measure
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
All stars
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A really lovely story an intriguing mix of characters and beautifully read most enjoyable a pleasure.

Lovely story

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Took me a while to get into it but then I loved it. Very enjoyable.

Feel good story.

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I have loved this book “The Copper Beach” so much and I highly recommend it. I enjoyed listening it so much and thought had depth, feeling, humour and tragedy narrated beautifully by Kate Binchy.

Another wonderful book by the great Maeve Binchy.

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I am latecomer to Maeve Binchy's writing. I have to admit I had always avoided it thinking it would be too sentimental or cosy. I was wrong. She has a sharp eye for human relationships and her characters show themselves to be misguided, foolish, unreliable, and cruel as well as loving, rounded, and patient. Her real interest in the way we form communities, and her warm but not sentimental belief in redemption, fills her novels with human interest. I was gripped, and this was a very good reading by Kate Binchy. Highly recommended.

Lovely listening

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I have read most of her books. Nowadays I fid great pleasure in the wonderful voice of Kate reading her mothers' books.

Gentle and delightful story

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