Candle to the Sun: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems

These stories and poems are a unique insight into what makes us all human. They unfold deceptively making the reader aware of the ironies of everyday life with all its sadness and joy, its unpredictability and inevitability. Peggy Lewis makes us consider our past as she writes; "On a dog-day afternoon, I found Where father's father lay ......" or our desire to control the people we love so that we do not lose them: "David accuses me of interfering. 'For goodness sake Rachel, why is it that you always try to manipulate people?' he says." We are made to confront ourselves as we recognise our own fears and regrets: "My daughter's like me, she sees with my eyes, loves the things I love. Yet I fear she also shares my weaknesses." Written over thirty years during the latter half of the twentieth century, Peggy Lewis's writing was ahead of its time. Her women are independent, fierce and strong. Her men are compassionate, protective and, at times, chauvinistic. Her stories and poems are timeless for, as the decades change, our desire to love and be loved, to experience the burning 'candle' of our lives is captured in the poignant sincerity of the writing. Read these stories and poems. You will find yourselves somewhere between the lines.

Peggy Lewis was born in 1923 in South East London and witnessed the great changes of the 20th century. She married in 1944 but did not begin writing until 1954. Her first story was broadcast by the BBC in 1958. Others were subsequently published in the London Evening Standard, Woman's Own and Women's Weekly both in the UK and as far afield as Sweden, Malaysia and South Africa. She went on to write many more stories, poems and articles, one of which was a fascinating insight into the China of 1987. She was awarded prizes for many of her publications. She died in 2009 at St Rita's Home in Ditchling, West Sussex.