Light a Candle

The Irish writer and journalist Maeve Binchy (1940-2012) is well known not only in her homeland but also all over the world. Binchy's works, in addition to short stories, include 16 novels, and her books have consistently become bestsellers and have received prestigious international awards multiple times. In the 1970s, Binchy published three collections of short stories quite successfully, but true fame came to her after the release of her first novel "Light a Candle" (1982).

The book tells the story of two friends and their gradual coming of age against the backdrop of events occurring in the 1940s-1950s on the British Isles, where, among other things, two very different worlds collide: urban England and patriarchal Catholic Ireland. Elizabeth was only ten years old when she had to leave her home. War was raging in Europe, London was being bombed, and her parents decided to send their daughter to a safer place - to a distant Irish town. The girl was taken in by a large, busy, and multichildren family, and Elizabeth's life changed completely. But most importantly, she gained a close friend, Ashley. They managed to maintain their friendship for many years, believing that their relationship would withstand any hardships and trials...