Evening Class (novel) a Dickensian way, they bump into each other and are affected by the decisions of those around them. It is a story of love and deceit, family drama, wealth and poverty, of friendship and courage. Nora O'Donoghue and Aidan Dunne also appear in "Quentins", another novel by Maeve Binchy, and play a more significant role in "Heart and Soul". The novel heavily inspired the plot of the Danish feature film "Italian for Beginners" (2000), which won a Silver Berlin Bear and several other major international awards. Maeve Binchy was not paid, credited nor informed of this, but was later paid
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (novel) said that the book would "cause many readers great annoyance – and, what more can a writer ask, than that?"; and by the writer Stephen Vizinczey, who said the story is "in the manner of the best thrillers, the hero's life is always in danger, and there are women about who undress with passion, but might give him away. Still, there is more at stake than the hero's life or the reader's entertainment – this first-class thriller is also a genuine novel, which is not only exciting, but moving, as it unfolds the black man's dream, the white man's nightmare."