Recent times, through the eyes of Maeve Binchy

Most Americans know Maeve Binchy as the author of such popular novels as Circle of Friends and Tara Road. But perhaps less well known: The late Irish author was also a journalist and columnist for The Irish Times.

In Maeve's Times: In Her Own Words, Binchy's editors have culled through her columns and news reports, spanning more than 40 years of writing.

Binchy began her decades-long relationship with the paper in 1969 as women's editor, transitioning to columnist. She remained an occasional contributor to the paper until her death in 2012 at age 72.

Like the author, the collection is a mixture of both the sanguine and the serious. Much like her fiction, the writing here is conversational in tone and direct in its message.

Binchy's comical tales of visiting the bra maker to the royals and her self-proclaimed war on the non-punctual are interspersed with more somber columns on abortion and the plight of the elderly during the Thatcher era.

U.S readers, even those quite familiar with Binchy, may not recognize many of the names and personalities referenced in her writings. But that's OK. Binchy's innate ability to find that common thread that unites us in our humanity is front and center. Human nature is human nature, whether you are from Dublin or Des Moines. Really, politicians and celebrities on some level are all the same, whatever the geography or era.

One area of familiarity, however, is her coverage of the royal family, particularly the princess and the duchess, Diana and Kate. (Especially now, with news of Kate and Will expecting baby No. 2 splashed across tabloids.) We are not short of royal watchers on this side of the pond.

For fans of the late author, this collection is yet one more chance to visit with an old friend. For newcomers, the columns represent a kind of social history of Ireland and of the late 20th century. Maeve and her times make for entertaining reading.

Maeve's Times: In her Own Words: Selected Writing from The Irish Times

By Maeve Binchy

Knopf, 400 pp.

3 stars out of four