Although the characters, Aisling and Elizabeth, are very very different from each other, they complement each other well and support one another in the most perfect and beautiful way. Ten-year-old Elizabeth White, shy and fearful, is sent from war-torn London to stay with the O’Connor family in Ireland and there she begins a life-long friendship with Aisling. There’s a glorious cast of characters, and a rich and absorbing narrative. If you haven’t read it there’s a treat in store. And if you have read it already, I promise you, it’s just as good the second time around. And the third. And the fourth… Elizabeth and Aisling are entirely different people who face many of the same challenges and life experiences. I love their bond and how easily Elizabeth is accepted into the O'Connor family. After their time together during the war, she is one of them. The female friendship here survives strain and separation without the aid of modern technology to bring them closer. It's an excellent model for accepting people for who they are and supporting them for it. I loved both of their personalities. Elizabeth can see the bright side of anything and is always willing to work hard and pursue her goals - even if others are trying to dissuade her. Aisling is brave and outspoken, but she's also incredibly kind and loyal. Their friendship could have dissolved or crumbled at any time, but their dedication to one another is evident. I also disliked some of the morals imparted by the novel, and that distracted from my enjoyment of it. (Can’t say much more without spoilers.) The novel also had some questionable themes and messages regarding abortion and polygamy that might be offensive to some. My Final Thoughts

a b Fox, Margalit (31 July 2012). "Maeve Binchy, Writer Who Evoked Ireland, Dies at 72". The New York Times . Retrieved 11 November 2019. Elizabeth White is sent to live with her mother, Violet’s childhood friend, Eileen O’ Connors who has large family. Elizabeth becomes friend with Eileen’s daughter Aisling. As both girls are of same age, they love each other’s company and grow into young women. I would guess that the phrase derives from the days when such candles probably would have cost a penny to buy, and I am assuming (I hasten to add that I don't know) that it means to commemorate someone (something?) I don’t think so. The novel tells us so a lot about Irish customs and ways, and it gives us a glimpse of England during WW2 . To escape the chaos of London during World War II, young Elizabeth White is sent to live a safer life in the small Irish town of Kilgarret. It is there, in the crowded, chaotic O’Connor household, that she meet Aisling—a girl who soon becomes her very best friend, sharing her pet kitten and secretly teaching her the intricacies of Catholicism.Imprecise costuming adds to a surprising sloth in director Peter Sheridan's approach, beginning with those infallible indicators, the ill-fitting wig and the weightless suitcase. The comings and goings demand suitcases but surely none so buoyant as these? A soldier dies a death as prolonged as an opera, a set of piled-high windows by Maree Kearns blushes scarlet to herald doom and then flares with many candles to signal rescue. Although Binchy deserves better a play so dependent on dramatic cliche will be a great success. What better books to raise the spirits than the gentle, insightful Irish tales of Maeve Binchy?' HELLO! Magazine However, as novelist she has 16 published novels and as short story writer, four short stories. Initially, she wrote short stories such as Central Line and Victoria Line. In 1982, her first novel was published called Light a Penny Candle, which earned her a sum of 52,000 pounds. I was pretty disappointed in this book overall. It starts off well, and I was at first enjoying it a lot. But though the writing has energy and drive, the themes never are really given their due, the characters are introduced and barely slip out of a form character for the rest of the novel (which is meant to be 20 years of their lives), there isn't really any consequences to their actions, and I felt like the whole things was a bit shallow. We love all our children equally, of course; but most would admit that there is a special bond with the first-born. I treasure every one of Maeve’s novels, but Light a Penny Candle will always have a profound hold on my heart. It was written in 1981 and first published in 1982; now, more than thirty years later, the writing is as vivid as ever and as firmly imprinted on my mind. To this day, my party piece is to recite the opening of Chapter One: ‘Violet finished the library book and closed it with a snap. Yet again, a self-doubting, fluttery, bird-brain heroine had been swept away by a masterful man…’

Light a Penny Candle is a 1982 novel by the Irish author Maeve Binchy. Her debut novel, it follows the friendship between an English girl and an Irish girl over the course of three decades, beginning with the English girl's stay in Ireland during the Blitz. It is one of Binchy's best-known novels. I have effusively praised Light a Penny Candle to many people. I would have given it five stars in 1995 when I first read it. Now that I read it again, I can give it only three stars. Why? Watson, Chris (24 June 1983). "A novel of great interest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p.62 – via Newspapers.com.

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Childhood – with its attendant growing pains and interactions at school and with members of the clergy – figures prominently in the novel. Kenny notes that Binchy was comfortable using young girls as main characters in her early novels as she had "observed children closely" while working as a teacher, and had become aware "how well a child can 'carry' a narrative". Children as major characters receded from Binchy's storytelling beginning with Tara Road in 1998. [3] This book truly captures the essence of friendship and love. The characters are real and their experiences are relatable and familiar, especially for any woman who has had a best friend that has been a part of their life - through childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood; through the good and bad. She regularly sent letters to her parent about her experiences in Israel and her parents would send her letters to a newspaper who published them. This encouraged her to enter the world of writing and started writing travel articles. After her mother’s death in 1968, she was in a state of solitaire. She was single, broke, and expecting a life of spinsterhood until she met Gordon Snell, freelance producer with BBC. She met him during a recording of Woman’s Hour in London.

Evacuated from Blitz-battered London, the shy Elizabeth White is sent to stay with the O'Connor family in Kilgarret, Ireland, where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with the lively, boisterous Aisling O'Connor. In Catholic churches it is indeed the practice to light a candle as a form of prayer for the souls of the dead in Purgatory. (There are some Protestant churches which do it too, I believe.) I am not aware that there has ever been any price-range on these; all those I have ever seen have beent the same size, and there is no set price - one can pay as much or as little as one likes. Beloved author Maeve Binchy’s first published novel, an engrossingcoming of age tale about the incredible bond of friendship. Vivid characterisation really is the heart of this book. The main characters are loveable, especially lively red-head Aisling. There was a large supporting cast of distinctive characters: fun-loving Harry, narcissistic Johnny, moaning Maureen. I felt that I was supposed to like Eileen but I found her prematurely old demeanour and judgemental Catholicism quite unattractive. I couldn’t really relate to Simon and Henry – at first I assumed they were a gay couple – how wrong I was!Following her heart diseases, arthritis gave her constant pain and as a result, she went through a major hip operation. Just after a short illness, Binchy died on 30 July 2012 in Dublin. On same evening, Vincent Browne announced her death on Irish television show Tonight with Vincent Browne and mourned for the passing of Ireland’s beloved, and well know novelist. The setting (which is the duration and aftermath of World War II) is made incredibly realistic and immediate through the inclusion of small details and their effect on the character’s lives and psyche. Each character is affected by the events around them and the actions of other characters making the whole feel much more cohesive and interesting. Binchy also does not shy away from controversial topics of the time such as Irish resentment of Britain etc. and that lends a sort of gravity to her work. Things That Were Meh

Light a Penny Candle is a Novel which was written by Maeve Binchy, a prolific Irish author who has written a great many wonderful novels. She has written some my favorite slice of life novels, especially “Circle of Friends” and “Evening Class”. Binchy is a master of making the people and situations feel real, making it extremely easy to sympathize with her characters.

The characters felt incredibly real and as if I could go outside and meet them in the flesh if I just walk around the corner. Each character interacted believably with both other characters and the environment. Each character is flawed and human and the problems they face give further credibility to the characterization. Their motivations were always clear even if you as the reader disagree with their decisions (as I did frequently), you can still understand why they do what they do. The protagonists are teenage girls and they feel like teenage girls. As we watch them grow through the prose, we also witness the evolution of their personalities as they grow. It is fascinating to see the progress of their characters and the journey they go through. Themes a b c d McLysaght, Emer (12 July 2020). " 'It paved the way for Normal People' - The enduring appeal of Maeve Binchy's Circle of Friends". Sunday Independent (Living). p.3. She studied at University College Dublin and was a teacher for a while. She also loved traveling, and this was how she found her niche as a writer. She liked going to different places, such as a Kibbutz in Israel, and she worked in a camp in the United States. While she was away, she sent letters home to her parents. They were so impressed with these chatty letters from all over the world that they decided to send them to a newspaper. After these letters were published, Maeve left teaching and became a journalist.