''Quentins'' is a 2002 novel by the Irish author

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, column ...

. The title refers to Quentins Restaurant, a fictional upscale dining establishment in central

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland. The restaurant was referenced numerous times in previous Binchy titles; this novel explores its 30-year history as well as the lives of its patrons. The novel was produced as a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''Word for Word'' audiobook in 2003.

Plot

Ella Brady, a young science teacher, falls in love with a handsome, suave businessman (Don Richardson) who is married but assures her that his marriage is "dead". For some time she is happy with the torrid affair, and manages to overlook some inconsistencies in what he tells her. Until the moment when he is exposed as a corrupt swindler and runs away out of the country and out of her life – leaving Ella, her family, and many people in Dublin without their savings. Ella is disgraced and quits her teaching job to work more than 60 hours a week at Quentins restaurant, with the

Scarlet Feather ''Scarlet Feather'' is a 2000 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. It was the winner of the 2001 WH Smith Literary Award for Fiction. Plot The novel follows the fortunes of Cathy Scarlet and her college friend, Tom Feather, who set up a cat ...

catering company, and with a film crew, to help out her family. The book mostly concentrates on Ella's attempt to get funding for her friends' film company for a documentary about the restaurant Quentins. She struggles to get over Richardson, whom she still loves, and with whether or not to give the

fraud squad A Fraud Squad is a police department which investigates fraud and other economic crimes. *Fraud squad (United Kingdom) *Garda Fraud Squad Fraud squad may also refer to: *Fraud Squad (duo), musical partnership between Daz Sampson and with JJ M ...

access to a laptop he left in her possession. Eventually, her efforts to get funding lead her to meet a new man, Derry King, an American businessman with an Irish heritage which he hates because of the way his drunken Irish father treated him and his mother. Smaller plot points revolve around the background of Patrick and Brenda Brennan (the managers of Quentins), Quentin himself, Ella's girlfriends Deirdre and Nuala, and many of the regulars at the restaurant; the main plot is interspersed with various vignettes in the lives of people who had been in contact with the restaurant in one way or another, these interweaving with each other and with Ella Brady's life in various unpredictable ways.

Themes

The novel explores themes of love, family, friendship, and the benefits of hard and honest work. It also examines the "

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

-driven Ireland" of the late 20th and early 21st century, as well as themes of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...

and

infertility In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to Sexual reproduction, reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, whi ...

. The idea of

as a village rather than a city is reinforced, as Binchy reveals it to be "a place where everyone knows everyone and no one's secrets are safe".

Recurring characters

''Quentins'' features appearances by characters from previous Binchy novels, including: *Nora O'Donoghue and Aidan Dunne from ''

Evening Class A part-time student is a non-traditional student who pursues higher education, but will attend fewer class hours per semester than a full-time student, taking more years to complete their qualification; this is typically done after reaching adul ...

'' *Brenda and Patrick Brennan from ''

'' *Tom Feather, Cathy Scarlet, and Maud and Simon Mitchell, from ''

'' *Ria Lynch and Colm Barry from ''

Tara Road ''Tara Road'' is a novel by Maeve Binchy. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1999. Plot introduction It is the story of two women, one from Ireland and one from America, who trade houses without ever having met. They' ...

'' On a humorous note, the novel also explains why the name Quentins is spelled without an apostrophe.

Publishing history

''Quentins'' is Binchy's 13th book. In 2000 she announced that her upcoming novel, ''

'', would be her last; she also retired as a columnist at ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

''. While she decided to forego writing "big novels", with ''Quentins'' she continued producing short stories that link together to advance the plot. Binchy's cousin, Kate Binchy, narrated the book for a

''Word for Word'' audiobook (2003).

References

{{Maeve Binchy 2002 Irish novels Novels by Maeve Binchy Novels set in Dublin (city) Novels set in restaurants