Light a Penny Candle
Writing with warmth, wit and great compassion, Maeve Binchy tells a magnificent story of the lives and loves of two women, bound together in a friendship that nothing could tear asunder – not even the man who threatened to come between them forever.
Evacuated from Blitz-battered London, Elizabeth is sent to stay with the O’Connor family. At first she is overcome by the noise and confusion of Ireland, by the extravagant emotionalism of a people quick to anger and swift to forgive. But soon, through the determined friendship of ten-year-old Aisling and the love of Eileen, Elizabeth begins to enjoy life as never before. When she goes back to England after the war this family remains part of her life.
Through twenty years of friendship Aisling O’Connor and Elizabeth White’s paths will cross and re-cross. As they face their loves, their marriages and their disappointments, they come to realise that not all problems will be solved, nor all wishes granted by lighting a penny candle.
Reviews of Light a Penny Candle
“Brilliant: a remarkable, panoramic and vastly entertaining novel.” — Irish Press
“With typical warmth and perception, Maeve Binchy describes her characters so well that leaving them is quite a wrench.” — Good Housekeeping
“A thoroughly enjoyable and readable book.” — The Times
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Published in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand by Random House. Published in the USA by Penguin.