Maeve Binchy's final work set for November publication

The final novel written by Irish author Maeve Binchy, who died last month at the age of 72, will be published in November, after her long-time editor Carol Baron revealed she will complete the editing process that Binchy was unable to finish.

A Week in Winter will take the form of a series of short stories about a group of old friends enjoying a winter break in hotel on the coast of Ireland and is expected to be one of the biggest sellers this Christmas.

During her final months, Binchy was unable to devote her time to editing the text and it was feared the novel would remain incomplete, but the author's husband and fellow writer Gordon Snell gave the go-ahead for Baron to complete the task.

After initially being scheduled for an October release, November 8th has now been set as the date of publication and Susan Lamb, publishing director at Orion, said Binchy's fans will not be disappointed by her final work.

'The book is absolutely terrific. It's vintage Maeve, showing again what a brilliant observer she was, full of empathy but never sentimental,' she explained.

The author's agent, Christine Green, added: 'Although Maeve's health had been giving her problems for some time, her writing was completely unaffected and A Week in Winter is Maeve writing at the top of her game. We have lost a wonderful storyteller.'