Light A Penny Candle: Maeve Binchy

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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. Her style is a unique one which keeps the reader spellbound throughout the prose. “Light a penny Candle” is actually Binchy’s first published work, and I hadn’t read until just recently. I had been meaning to read it for quite some time, but I just never got around to. Once I did I really needed to voice some of my thoughts about the book. Synopsis

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.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. I’ll have to read more of her to see what her (many) later novels become. She’s written lots and lots of books, which makes me wonder if she slides into more formulaic writing. Neither of them were to know it would become the most important friendship of their lives. Their bond is unshakeable, enduring over turbulent years of change and chaos, joy and sorrow, soaring dreams - and searing betrayals . . .

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.

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No Comments Christine Green, Maeve Binchy’s agent, explains why her favourite is the first novel, Light a Penny Candle. 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! I especially liked part one which took place from 1940 to 1945. It tells the story of a little girl, Elizabeth, who was sent by her parents to a small town in Ireland to live with family friends to escape the bombing in London. She is given a warm welcome by the boisterous O'Connor family and develops a life-long friendship with their daughter, Aisling. Their friendship is the heart of the story. 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! 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.

Kennedy, Janice (31 October 1998). "Maeve: Extravagant, generous, self-deprecating". Ottawa Citizen. p.60 – via Newspapers.com.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. a b c d e f Weber, Katharine (26 October 1991). "An Irish National Treasure: PW Talks With Maeve Binchy". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 11 July 2020.

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.Watson, Chris (24 June 1983). "A novel of great interest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p.62 – via Newspapers.com.