Quentins features appearances by characters from previous Binchy novels, including: The idea of Dublin 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'. It also examines the ' economy-driven Ireland' of the late 20th and early 21st century, as well as themes of celibacy and infertility. The novel explores themes of love, family, friendship, and the benefits of hard and honest work.

Smaller plot points revolve around the background of Patrick and Brenda Brennan (the managers of Quentins), 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. 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. She struggles to get over Richardson, whom she still loves, and with whether or not to give the fraud squad access to a laptop he left in her possession.

The book mostly concentrates on Ella's attempt to get funding for her friends' film company for a documentary about the restaurant Quentins.

Ella is disgraced and quits her teaching job to work more than 60 hours a week at Quentins restaurant, with the Scarlet Feather catering company, and with a film crew, to help out her family. 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. For some time she is happy with the torrid affair, and manages to overlook some inconsistencies in what he tells her. The novel was produced as a BBC Word for Word audiobook in 2003.Įlla 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'. 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 title refers to Quentins Restaurant, a fictional upscale dining establishment in central Dublin, Ireland.

Quentins is a 2002 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy.

Tom hanks maeve binchy