Maeve Binchy is one of Britain's most popular and bestselling authors, and this collection of four stories from the BBC Radio 4 archive shows her at her most insightful and imaginative. In The Garden Party, Helen envies her neighbour Debbie Kennedy's garden - and her life - but discovers that things are not always as they seem; while The Special Sale sees lonely Yvonne arranging a special lunch for her friend Frank and his children on the day after Christmas. The Sensible Celebration finds Lorna about to throw a small party to celebrate the decade gone by: but as she plans, she starts to think about her life, and her marriage. Finally, in Dolly's Mother, the beauty, grace and efficiency of her perfect parent have always made Dolly feel inferior - until the day of her sixteenth birthday. These four stories, never collected together in book form and unique to audio, are read by acclaimed actors Niamh Cusack, Dervla Kirwan, Doreen Hepburn and Stella McCusker. 1 CD. 57 mins.

British comedy starring Dakota Blue Richards, Christian McKay and Miles Jupp. When a group of men face the daunting prospect of finding a new local pub after theirs is threatened with closure, they pool together to figure out a way to raise enough cash to save the pub. When they decide to write a novel based on the popular 'mummy porn' genre, they contact a publisher (Eileen Atkins), pretending to be the author's agents, who agrees to publish the book on the condition that the author commit herself to a book tour. Desperate for the deal to go through, David (McKay) asks his sister-in-law Zoe (Richards) to pretend to be the author of their prospective best-seller for the sake of the press. All goes to plan until a studio buys the film rights and asks Zoe to play the lead...

A collection of full-cast dramatisations and readings from the bestselling author 'There's nobody like Binchy for warming the cockles' Times Maeve Binchy was one of Britain's best-loved storytellers and this compilation of her finest fiction, as heard on BBC Radio, demonstrates all the warmth, wit and compassion that made her so popular. Firefly Summer is a moving, humorous novel about a sleepy Irish town facing monumental change, dramatised in six parts with a full cast including David Soul and Lorcan Cranitch. No Nightingales, No Snakes features full-cast dramatisations of five Maeve Binchy short stories, with a distinguished cast including Niamh Cusack, Sam Dale and Harry Towb. The Garden Party contains four short stories specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4, read by Niamh Cusack, Dervla Kirwan, Doreen Hepburn and Stella McCusker. The Homecoming comprises four more stories exclusively written for BBC Radio 4, read by Sean Campion, Joanna Myers, Patricia Hodge and Kate Binchy. Dealing with families, friendship, love, loss, sorrow and joy, these stories will delight all Maeve Binchy fans. Duration: 6 hours approx