Light a Penny Candle

By: Maeve Binchy

Narrated by: Kate Binchy

Evacuated from Blitz-battered London, shy and genteel Elizabeth White is sent to stay with the boisterous O'Connors in Kilgarret, Ireland. It is the beginning of an unshakeable bond between Elizabeth and Aisling O'Connor, a friendship which will endure through twenty turbulent years of change and chaos, joy and sorrow, soaring dreams and searing betrayals...

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.

Critic reviews

Praise for Maeve Binchy and Light a Penny Candle

“Extraordinary.”—Philadelphia Inquirer

“An Irish Thorn Birds...complete and rewarding.”—Newsday

“A find...so rich and engrossing you can forget your own problems.”—Glamour

“A remarkably gifted writer…a wonderful student of human nature.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Reading one of Maeve Binchy’s novels is like coming home.”—The Washington Post

“Binchy is a grand storyteller in the finest Irish tradition…she writes from the heart.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Binchy’s genius is transforming storytelling into art.”—San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle

“Binchy’s tales combine warmth and spunk in a quintessentially Celtic way...In the field of women’s popular fiction, the Dublin storyteller sticks out like a faultless solitaire on a Woolworth’s jewelry counter.”—Chicago Tribune

Amazing Maeve

It's not my favorite Maeve Binchy novel; however, it is still excels in storytelling as only she could do. Light a Penny Candle keeps readers enthralled with perfect characterization and unexpected plot lines. It is a bit cynical and ends much darker than typical Binchy novels, but it entertains as only Maeve Binchy can do.

A captivating read

I enjoyed this book which is set just after the events of World War 2.

I found Elizabeth and Ashley to be interesting characters and I love how they stayed close from the time they were little girls and were there to support each other through good times and bad.

Trigger warnings: death of parents, divorce, domestic abuse, abortion

Good Adaptation, poor sound quality

A good, sweet adaption of a wonderful book. It's read by the author's daughter, mean the Irish names and words are all correct. However, the sound quality of the recording is somewhat lacking. It sounds like it was recorded from a tape.

Maeve is always great entertainment

I didn't appreciate the abridged version! Maeve's stories should always be told in full length!

Didn’t like the ending But

Binchy is so good at writing. This book was so nice Unhappy young girl being forced to go to Ireland because of London , under bombs from WW2. Wonderful family in Ireland , lifelong bonds made there. Great short story