Fiction. Literature. Romance. Historical Fiction. HTML:An emotional story of love, betrayal, friendship, and family from #1 New York Times bestselling author Maeve Binchy.
David Power and Clare O'Brien both grew up dreaming of escape from the battered seaside town of Castlebay, Ireland, but they might as well have had the ocean between them. David is the cherished son of a prosperous doctor, while Clare lives with her large family behind their faltering store, longing for a moment of quiet to study. When they both go to university in Dublin—he as a matter of course, she on a hard-won scholarship—their worlds collide. They find freedom in each other—until the families, lovers, and secrets they left in Castlebay come back to haunt them...
“Laughter and tears, it’s what Binchy does best.”—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review
“The Castlebay Maeve Binchy creates is a marvelous place.”—The New York Times Book Review.

Growing up in a small seaside town in the 1950s, Clare O'Brien and David Power shout their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far away from Castlebay, the town in which they live. Years later they meet again in Dublin, where David is studying medicine and Clare has won a scholarship to University College. But eventually Castlebay will draw them back and it is against a backdrop of empty grey skies, sea-spray and wind that this drama of ambition, betrayal and love finally reaches it turbulent conclusion.

David Power and Clare O'Brien both grew up dreaming of escape from the battered seaside town of Castlebay, but they might as well have had the ocean between them. David is the cherished son of a prosperous doctor, while Clare lives with her large family behind their faltering store, longing for a moment of quiet to study. When they both go to university in Dublin--he as a matter of course, she on a hard-won scholarship--their worlds collide. They find freedom in each other--until the families, lovers, and secrets they left in Castlebay come back to haunt them.

After Clare O'Brien, a poor shopkeeper's daughter, and David Power, a son of a wealthy family of Castlebay, marry, they find the confinements of life in the small Irish seaside town of Castlebay once again closing in.

This is the story of two very different children growing up in a small Irish seaside town in the 50s and 60s. Shouting their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far away from the town in which they live. Castlebay, in winter empty and grey with wind and sea spray, becomes all bustle and colour in the gaudy days of summer. The paths of these two characters are destined to criss-cross in a quite unforeseen way, and eventually both roads will lead back to Castlebay. The end of this long drama of ambition, betrayal and love is played out in the seaside town where it began, against a backdrop of whispered family gossip and the tangled skein of past friendships.

In a small seaside Irish town in the late 1950s, two very different children are growing up, shouting their hearts desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far from Castlebay, a place empty and gloomy in winter but bustling with visitors in the gaudy days of summer. One of the children is Clare, shopkeeper Tom O'Brien's younger daughter. She wins a scholarship to University College, Dublin, and seems set for academic glory. The other is David Power, the doctor's son. He dreams of escape, also via Dublin, as a medic. But the path of these two children cross again in a quite unexpected way. Castlebay will draw them back in this drama of ambition, betrayal, before love finally reaches it turbulent conclusion.

First published in paperback in 1987, this national bestseller remains one of Binchy's most beloved works. Divided by class, drawn together by desire, Clare and David found a love that knew no barriers--in a world determined to keep them apart.

Fiction. Romance. HTML:"It was sometimes called the echo cave, and if you shouted your question loud enough in the right direction, you got an answer instead of an echo..."
Clare and David—divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love—and ready to defy a world determined to keep them apart.
Even at fifteen, David Power knew the echo would answer eleven-year-old Clare O'Brien's dearest wish, to win a school prize. But it was years before Dr. Power's cherished only son saw in the huckster's daughter the answer to his own heart's desire. Here in Castlebay, perched precariously on the seaside cliffs, the lines between them were clearly drawn. Clare's only hope is to leave the town where time stopped, propelled by scholarships to Dublin, fueled by her own drive and brilliance, far from the insular, gossipy world of Castlebay and those in its thrall... Angela O'Hara, beautiful, insolated, a teacher trapped in the convent school, who risks everything to help Clare escape... Gerry Doyle, the town charmer who finds in Clare the woman he vows to have at any price... Caroline Nolan, the beautiful, rich outsider who comes to plunder...
For Clare, that was before the wild freedom of Dublin, and love. And David. Before fate drove them back to Castlebay, and the past...

From severely varying backgrounds, but both wishing to escape their families' influence, David and Clare fall in love while away from their small Irish coastal village.

Fiction. Romance. HTML:

Two very different children dream of escape from the Irish seaside town of Castlebay. Their paths are destined to cross in this drama of love, ambition and betrayal.

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Clare and David--divided as children by a rigid social code that branded her as shanty Irish and him as gentry...brought together as adults by a desire that knew no class, no barriers, only the urgent hunger of two people destined to love--and ready to defy a world determined to keep them apart.

In a small seaside Irish town in the late 1950s, two very different children are growing up, shouting their hearts desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far from Castlebay, a place empty and gloomy in winter but bustling with visitors in the gaudy days of summer. One of the children is Clare, shopkeeper Tom O'Brien's younger daughter....

When Clare, a shopkeeper's daughter, and David, a doctor's son, meet at university in Dublin it seems that barriers of class and clan no longer exist. But fate takes them back to their provincial village where the echoes of prejudice test their love.

Clare O'Brien, a shopkeeper's daughter, and David Power, the village doctor's son, dream of escaping from their lives in Castlebay, Ireland.

Growing up in a small seaside town in the 1950s, Clare and David shout their desires into the echo cave, praying their destiny will lead them away from the town in which they live. Years later they meet again in Dublin but find Castlebay draws them back once more.

'A powerful story of love and jealousy' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH _______________________________________________________ AMBITION, BETRAYAL, LOVE. Growing up in a quiet seaside town, Clare O'Brien and David Power shout their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying their destinies will carry them far away from Castlebay. Years later, their paths cross again. David, following in his father's footsteps, is studying medicine and Clare has won a scholarship to University College. But eventually Castlebay will draw them back and, against a backdrop of empty grey skies, sea-spray and howling winds, this drama of ambition, betrayal and love will reach its turbulent conclusion. _______________________________________________________ 'A master storyteller' MARIAN KEYES 'I have returned to read Maeve Binchy time and time again' LORRAINE KELLY 'Compulsive reading... Binchy has the true story-teller's knack' OBSERVER

A romantic melodrama, set in an Irish seaside town in the Fifties and early Sixties.

Fiction. Romance. HTML:

January 1, 1986
The bracing sea air brings little pleasure to the year-round residents of Castlebay, a village on the coast of Ireland, where class lines are strictly observed and morals publicly monitored. The youngest daughter of a shopkeeper whose meagre living depends on summer trade, Clare O'Brien is determined to move beyond her present circumstances. Hard work and the guidance of an irreverent, caring schoolteacher bring the resolute scholar to a college in Dublin. There, her steps falter when she enters into an ardent affair with David Power, the son of Castlebay's only doctor and another willing exile. Although David returns her love, their devotion is sorely tested when they are forced to marry and return home. As a wealthy, new-fledged doctor, David easily resumes his privileged position, but Clare is trapped between her mother-in-law's cold fury and the town's unease. Sharply drawn, memorable characters and a convincing picture of a small Irish community bring freshness and zest to a familiar tale. Binchy also wrote Light a Penny Candle. 50,000 first printing; Literary Guild alternate; first serial to Cosmopolitan; paperback rights to Dell; U.K. rights: Century Publishing; translation rights: Christine Green. January

. HTML:The second novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Maeve Binchy.
David Power and Clare O'Brien both grew up dreaming of escape from the battered seaside town of Castlebay, but they might as well have had the ocean between them. David is the cherished son of a prosperous doctor, while Clare lives with her large family behind their faltering store, longing for a moment of quiet to study. When they both go to university in Dublin—he as a matter of course, she on a hard-won scholarship—their worlds collide. They find freedom in each other—until the families, lovers, and secrets they left in Castlebay come back to haunt them.

Having grown up in small Irish seaside town in the 1950s, Clare and David meet again years later as students in Dublin. But eventually their home town will draw them back, and it is there that this Maeve Binchy drama of ambition, betrayal and love reaches its turbulent conclusion.

Young Irish couple defy barriers of social class.

Wealthy David Power and huckster's daughter Clare O'Brien are divided by class in the small, gossipy Irish town of Castlebay, but the love they have for each other knows no boundaries, reuniting them after many years apart and forcing them to fight for their love once again. Reprint.

Now offered at a special price, this is the poignant and passionate story of two lovers separated in a caste society, and their defiance of a world determined to keep them apart. Compelling reading.--Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Maeve Binchy is a grand storyteller . . . she writes from the heart.--The Plain Dealer (Cleveland).

A love story set in Ireland about 2 young people whose marriage is threatened by class differences.

Clare, David og Gerry vokser op sammen i Irland i 1950'erne. Samfundet er stærkt klassedelt, og deres veje skilles. Senere i livet mødes de igen og gør status.

De vuelta a su pueblo, Clare y david encontrarán una tormenta de pasiones que amenaza conhacer naufragar su relación.

Echoes by Maeve Binchy (1997)