Light A Penny Candle: Maeve Binchy

Product Information

Wax has a kind of “memory” and if you want your candle to burn effectively without tunnelling, then the first burn needs to be long enough for the wax melt pool to spread to the edge or close to the edge of the container Friendship is another theme that would play a prominent role in Binchy's oeuvre. In this novel, Binchy charts the course of a friendship from ages 10 to 30, [4] "from idyllic childhood to turbulent adulthood", [5] with each girl offering support to the other through letters and visits. Maeve Binchy was born on 28 May 1940 in Dalkey, County Dublin, Ireland, the eldest child of four. Her parents were very positive and provided her with a happy childhood. Although she described herself as an overweight child, her parents' attitude gave her the confidence to accept herself for who she was. 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. Light a Penny Candle” begins in the 1940's and ends in 1959. It tells of a very different era from our own. Now we counsel women to leave their alcoholic and violent husbands; then, Irish Catholic mothers told their daughters that it was their duty to stay with such men because of the sanctity of marriage!

Though Maeve Binchy ranks high in my list of Top authors, this one was not really my cup of tea. I would much rather recommend reading one of her other works such as, “Evening Class”, “Circle of Friends”, or “Quentins”. On the other hand, it is an easy to read and somewhat enjoyable book so if you have nothing better to do (like me) then I say, go for it! Unlike the O'Connors and Elizabeth, there were some characters who were hard to like, all of them effectively portrayed. I hope Maeve Binchy was married to a kind man who wasn't an alcoholic because her portrayal of one character's struggle was harrowing and tragic. Binchy was a keen observer of human nature, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.This is really important: on the first burn, always burn for 3 – 4 hours to ensure an even melt pool. a b Fox, Margalit (31 July 2012). "Maeve Binchy, Writer Who Evoked Ireland, Dies at 72". The New York Times . Retrieved 11 November 2019. Another excellent family drama from one of my favourite cosy authors. We follow two girls growing up during and in the aftermath of World War II from girls to women in both Ireland and England. Maeve Binchy accurately takes us on a journey that is cleverly real and quite easily have happened.

I won't go into the details of the book itself - other reviewers have done so. This is the first Maeve Binchy book I've read where I finished it and felt rather unsatisfied. I have become accustomed to (and a fan of) the way she spins a tale, weaves together the details, and above all exercises the patience to do the story justice. 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. 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.

Select a format:

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.

Irish family saga centering on the friendship of Aisling O'Connor and Elizabeth White, an English evacuee sent to live with Aisling and her family during WWII. The story spans 20+ years as the girls grow up and start their lives in both Ireland and London.

My Overall Thoughts

Watson, Chris (24 June 1983). "A novel of great interest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p.62 – via Newspapers.com. My only disappointment in this book was the last part because I felt that it spiraled a bit out of control. The characters were not true to what the entire story had described them as, and I felt that it was too fast-paced. I can appreciate the way it ended, but it didn't feel natural. Binchy has showed her talent as drama writer for both radio and silver screen. However, many of her novels and short stories are adapted successfully for films and television. Circle of Friends was Binchy’s first book that was made into major Hollywood film starring Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver.

Beloved author Maeve Binchy’s first published novel, an engrossingcoming of age tale about the incredible bond of friendship.

Galway Bay" - the mystery man who wrote the classic song". Irish Examiner. 27 July 2018 . Retrieved 26 June 2019. For character portrayal, I would give this book five stars. But this long family saga seemed like an endless soap opera that presented one bleak dilemma after another. It was exhausting. This is a story of a friendship between two girls, set in Ireland and England in the 1940s and 1950s. The characters were complex and well-developed, as they always are with Maeve. The story grabbed me, and I was thinking about it constantly any time that I wasn’t reading – always a good sign! Maeve Binchy’s cousin Kate, who is the reader on most of her audiobooks, explains why this is her favourite. Most of the women were long suffering except a few like Violet and Aisling who refused to put up with their circumstances. Aisling especially was the bright spot in the book, feisty and full of life.