Light a Penny Candle is the debut novel of Maeve Binchy, published in 1982.The novel follows Elizabeth White and Aisling O'Connor over a period of 20 years, as their friendship grows and changes. The novel begins in 1940, when Elizabeth is evacuated to Ireland during World War II.She is sent to live in Kilgarret with the O'Connors, and quickly befriends Aisling.

After a spell as a teacher she joined The Irish Times. Her first novel, Light a Penny Candle, was published in 1982, and she went on to write more than twenty books, all of them bestsellers. Several have been adapted for film and television, most notably Circle of Friends and Tara Road, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection.