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Tortoise by Candlelight
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Set just outside London in the early 1960s, this is a charming novel about a family living on the edge of society in their dilapidated Victorian house following the departure of their mother - and the upheaval when a new couple moves in next door . . .
With a foreword by Eve Chase
‘Birds don’t love. They only feed their babies because they gape . . .’
Fourteen-year-old Emmie Bean loves her family. But she worries about them too. Her mother is gone (no one will say where). Her father drinks instead of writing. Her younger brother Oliver has started stealing. And older sister Alice disappears on illicit dates.
Then there is their isolated house’s menagerie of birds and animals, including Mo the squirrel and Murgatroyd the tortoise, all of which require Emmie’s love and attention.
When the Sargents, a childless couple, move in next door, Emmie and the Beans find themselves drawn to this welcoming but aimless husband and wife.
Emmie fears the darkness and chaos surrounding them all. But perhaps love burns bright . . .
Praise for Nina
‘An exceptional picture of disorganised family life’ Observer
‘Bawden is noted too for the sharp sense of humour that edges her tales of middle-class manners and mores towards satire, particularly when it all goes wrong’ Guardian
Set just outside London in the early 1960s, this is a charming novel about a family living on the edge of society in their dilapidated Victorian house following the departure of their mother - and the upheaval when a new couple moves in next door . . .
With a foreword by Eve Chase
‘Birds don’t love. They only feed their babies because they gape . . .’
Fourteen-year-old Emmie Bean loves her family. But she worries about them too. Her mother is gone (no one will say where). Her father drinks instead of writing. Her younger brother Oliver has started stealing. And older sister Alice disappears on illicit dates.
Then there is their isolated house’s menagerie of birds and animals, including Mo the squirrel and Murgatroyd the tortoise, all of which require Emmie’s love and attention.
When the Sargents, a childless couple, move in next door, Emmie and the Beans find themselves drawn to this welcoming but aimless husband and wife.
Emmie fears the darkness and chaos surrounding them all. But perhaps love burns bright . . .
Praise for Nina
‘An exceptional picture of disorganised family life’ Observer
‘Bawden is noted too for the sharp sense of humour that edges her tales of middle-class manners and mores towards satire, particularly when it all goes wrong’ Guardian
267 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Nina Bawden
73 books96 followersNina Bawden was a popular British novelist and children's writer. Her mother was a teacher and her father a marine.
When World War II broke out she spent the school holidays at a farm in Shropshire along with her mother and her brothers, but lived in Aberdare, Wales, during term time.
Bawden attended Somerville College, Oxford, where she gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Her novels include Carrie's War, Peppermint Pig, and The Witch's Daughter.
A number of her works have been dramatised by BBC Children's television, and many have been translated into various languages. In 2002 she was badly injured in the Potters Bar rail crash, and her husband Austen Kark was killed.
Bawden passed away at her home in London on 22 August 2012.
When World War II broke out she spent the school holidays at a farm in Shropshire along with her mother and her brothers, but lived in Aberdare, Wales, during term time.
Bawden attended Somerville College, Oxford, where she gained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
Her novels include Carrie's War, Peppermint Pig, and The Witch's Daughter.
A number of her works have been dramatised by BBC Children's television, and many have been translated into various languages. In 2002 she was badly injured in the Potters Bar rail crash, and her husband Austen Kark was killed.
Bawden passed away at her home in London on 22 August 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 4, 2026
I love these coming of age novels set within an eccentric family, think Guard Your Daughters or I Capture the Castle. This one is darker than I Capture the Castle.
Emmie is 14, and having to look after her family; a father who is likely to drink much of what he earns, a sister who is sneaking out with a neighbours son, and eight year old Oliver, who looks angelic, but has a penchant for stealing things. There is also a houseful of unusual pets including Mo the red squirrel, and Murgatroyd, Oliver's pet tortoise. Their mother is not around, though it is unclear where she is for much of the novel. They live in a dilapidated Victorian house with only one other house nearby, and they are about to get new neighbours who will shake things up a bit.
This is more of a character study than a plot driven novel, but those characters are interesting in their own way, so it's a very pleasant read.
Emmie is 14, and having to look after her family; a father who is likely to drink much of what he earns, a sister who is sneaking out with a neighbours son, and eight year old Oliver, who looks angelic, but has a penchant for stealing things. There is also a houseful of unusual pets including Mo the red squirrel, and Murgatroyd, Oliver's pet tortoise. Their mother is not around, though it is unclear where she is for much of the novel. They live in a dilapidated Victorian house with only one other house nearby, and they are about to get new neighbours who will shake things up a bit.
This is more of a character study than a plot driven novel, but those characters are interesting in their own way, so it's a very pleasant read.
May 30, 2008
Set in 60s? Story of a 14-year old girl trying to hold her dysfunctional family together through a period of change (growing up, sick grandmother, new neighbours). Slightly dated punctuation and some self-consciously "clever" phrases.
May 13, 2026
When mooching around charity shops I always keep my eyes peeled for Virago Modern Classics, especially the green spines. I’m glad I found this one. Or perhaps it found me? This is publishing from a different era, when quality and talent were what counted. Novels were also allowed to be short! Nina Bawden was a fabulous writer and I love this novel. It has so much depth, and heart, and wonderful observations. I enjoyed her children’s books and her adult fiction is equally good. Her characterisation is excellent and this novel is delightfully sharp and profound. Intelligent and emotionally-mature writing for intelligent and emotionally-mature readers. Highly recommended.
August 25, 2026
A beautifully realised portrait of domestic disharmony. There are elements of Cold Comfort Farm here but where Gibbons plays the set up for laughs, Bawden offers are far darker state of affairs with tensions running under the surface and occasionally bursting through in frightening ways. Emmie is fourteen and the glue that holds her fractured family together. She is both old beyond her years and startlingly naive, which makes her brittle and at times horribly at risk. This is gothic in the manner of Flannery O'Connor, a kind of skewed, brooding normality that smashes up against social norms.
July 15, 2026
A good, old fashioned read, not that this is a problem.
It reminded me of ‘I Capture The Castle’ and ‘The Greengage Summer’ in the sense that children in it start to grow up. The former and this book also involved middle class families who had fallen on hard times, and couldn’t seem to cope with the lack of money, having never had to budget, save, or even work for it.
I didn’t like Martin, the alcoholic father, and I thought that Marjorie’s illness being described as glandular when she became ill after her baby died showed how dated the book is. But I did enjoy it.
It reminded me of ‘I Capture The Castle’ and ‘The Greengage Summer’ in the sense that children in it start to grow up. The former and this book also involved middle class families who had fallen on hard times, and couldn’t seem to cope with the lack of money, having never had to budget, save, or even work for it.
I didn’t like Martin, the alcoholic father, and I thought that Marjorie’s illness being described as glandular when she became ill after her baby died showed how dated the book is. But I did enjoy it.
June 16, 2026
a very strong 4 stars. very very enjoyable
April 22, 2026
Rather strange and somewhat childish book about family relationships. I didn’t find the characters very credible but it was a quite engrossing read. ‘Comforting’ though, definitely not. I found the relationships between the adults and children very disturbing and the book finished abruptly, leaving many unresolved plot lines.
December 4, 2020
For my full review: https://girlwithherheadinabook.co.uk/...
Another Virago Modern Classic here and my first time reading Nina Bawden’s adult fiction. Emmie Bean is trying to hold the household together in her mother’s absence and with her father a well-meaning drunk. Her siblings do not help. Her home is in a state of squalor. Even those she does reach out to do. As with so much of Bawden’s young adult novels, there is the same sense of the young people existing in a different world to the adults, their concerns passing unnoticed. Still, the characters were not as striking as those in Bawden’s better known fiction such as Carrie’s War and although I did enjoy the novel, the finer details have rapidly faded from memory.
Another Virago Modern Classic here and my first time reading Nina Bawden’s adult fiction. Emmie Bean is trying to hold the household together in her mother’s absence and with her father a well-meaning drunk. Her siblings do not help. Her home is in a state of squalor. Even those she does reach out to do. As with so much of Bawden’s young adult novels, there is the same sense of the young people existing in a different world to the adults, their concerns passing unnoticed. Still, the characters were not as striking as those in Bawden’s better known fiction such as Carrie’s War and although I did enjoy the novel, the finer details have rapidly faded from memory.
August 9, 2026
Having recently enjoyed The Birds on the Trees (1970) by Nina Bawden I was delighted to get a review copy of the reissue of Tortoise by Candlelight (1963) via Netgalley and which came out in March 2026.
Tortoise by Candlelight is a compelling read for anyone who appreciates accomplished character writing and domestic drama.
14 year old Emmie Bean holds together a household of neglectful adults and eccentric siblings. Emmie’s mother is mysteriously absent, her father Martin is an unreliable alcoholic journalist who drinks away what little money he makes, her older sister Alice has all but checked out, and her evangelical grandmother is growing increasingly frail. Emmie channels most of her energy into protecting her 8 year old brother, Oliver. Oliver possesses an angelic face, a penchant for stealing, and an obsession with collecting tortoises. That’s the set up, although it’s worth pointing out that this is more about the mood and sense of time and place than about plot, despite some dramatic moments.
Tortoise by Candlelight is both unsentimental and tender, and well worth reading if that milieu appeals to you. I am looking forward to reading more of Nina Bawden’s work.
4/5
Rediscover the brilliance of Tortoise by Candlelight in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers.
'The Mermaid Collection is so sure footed that you're unlikely to go wrong' India Knight Set just outside London in the early 1960s, this is a charming novel about a family living on the edge of society in their dilapidated Victorian house following the departure of their mother - and the upheaval when a new couple moves in next door . . . With a foreword by Eve Chase ‘Birds don’t love. They only feed their babies because they gape . . .’ Fourteen-year-old Emmie Bean loves her family. But she worries about them too. Her mother is gone (no one will say where). Her father drinks instead of writing. Her younger brother Oliver has started stealing. And older sister Alice disappears on illicit dates. Then there is their isolated house’s menagerie of birds and animals, including Mo the squirrel and Murgatroyd the tortoise, all of which require Emmie’s love and attention. When the Sargents, a childless couple, move in next door, Emmie and the Beans find themselves drawn to this welcoming but aimless husband and wife. Emmie fears the darkness and chaos surrounding them all. But perhaps love burns bright . . . Praise for Nina Bawden: ‘An exceptional picture of disorganised family life’ Observer ‘Bawden is noted too for the sharp sense of humour that edges her tales of middle-class manners and mores towards satire, particularly when it all goes wrong’ Guardian
Tortoise by Candlelight is a compelling read for anyone who appreciates accomplished character writing and domestic drama.
14 year old Emmie Bean holds together a household of neglectful adults and eccentric siblings. Emmie’s mother is mysteriously absent, her father Martin is an unreliable alcoholic journalist who drinks away what little money he makes, her older sister Alice has all but checked out, and her evangelical grandmother is growing increasingly frail. Emmie channels most of her energy into protecting her 8 year old brother, Oliver. Oliver possesses an angelic face, a penchant for stealing, and an obsession with collecting tortoises. That’s the set up, although it’s worth pointing out that this is more about the mood and sense of time and place than about plot, despite some dramatic moments.
Tortoise by Candlelight is both unsentimental and tender, and well worth reading if that milieu appeals to you. I am looking forward to reading more of Nina Bawden’s work.
4/5
Rediscover the brilliance of Tortoise by Candlelight in the Mermaid Collection - classic books by popular pioneering female authors republished to delight new generations of readers.
'The Mermaid Collection is so sure footed that you're unlikely to go wrong' India Knight Set just outside London in the early 1960s, this is a charming novel about a family living on the edge of society in their dilapidated Victorian house following the departure of their mother - and the upheaval when a new couple moves in next door . . . With a foreword by Eve Chase ‘Birds don’t love. They only feed their babies because they gape . . .’ Fourteen-year-old Emmie Bean loves her family. But she worries about them too. Her mother is gone (no one will say where). Her father drinks instead of writing. Her younger brother Oliver has started stealing. And older sister Alice disappears on illicit dates. Then there is their isolated house’s menagerie of birds and animals, including Mo the squirrel and Murgatroyd the tortoise, all of which require Emmie’s love and attention. When the Sargents, a childless couple, move in next door, Emmie and the Beans find themselves drawn to this welcoming but aimless husband and wife. Emmie fears the darkness and chaos surrounding them all. But perhaps love burns bright . . . Praise for Nina Bawden: ‘An exceptional picture of disorganised family life’ Observer ‘Bawden is noted too for the sharp sense of humour that edges her tales of middle-class manners and mores towards satire, particularly when it all goes wrong’ Guardian
August 14, 2026
A quietly unsettling, beautifully observed novel, Tortoise by Candlelight shows exactly why Nina Bawden remains one of the most perceptive chroniclers of family tension and emotional undercurrents.
At its heart is young Emmeline, trying to make sense of the strange, shifting atmosphere inside her household. Bawden builds the story with her signature precision: small details, overheard conversations, and the way adults behave when they think children aren’t watching. The result is a narrative that feels intimate yet disquieting, as though you’re piecing together a puzzle from the edges inward.
What makes the book so effective is its emotional realism. Nina Bawden never resorts to melodrama; instead, she lets the unease accumulate slowly. The adults are flawed, distracted, sometimes careless, and the children absorb more than anyone realises. The tension between what is said and what is felt gives the novel its power. What struck me most while reading Tortoise by Candlelight was how deeply unsettling it felt, even though it carried the unmistakable warmth and cadence of the Nina Bawden novels I adored as a child. The synopsis sets the stage for a story about Emmeline and her siblings navigating a household full of emotional fractures, but living inside the novel felt far more intimate, ike being a child again, noticing every adult whisper, every shift in atmosphere, every unspoken tension.
That unease crept up on me and i was transported back to when I read The Peppermint Pig, one of my childhood favourites, where the eventual killing of the pig left me desperately sobbing. This author wrote stories that appear gentle on the surface, almost cosy, yet she threads them with emotional truths sharp enough to wound. Tortoise by Candlelight carries that same duality: the tenderness of childhood perspective intertwined with the quiet devastation of realising the adults around you are not as steady or safe as you once believed.
The book’s atmosphere is what lingered with me. It’s not dramatic, not loud, but quietly disquieting... A haunting, beautifully observed novel that stays with you precisely because it feels so true.
At its heart is young Emmeline, trying to make sense of the strange, shifting atmosphere inside her household. Bawden builds the story with her signature precision: small details, overheard conversations, and the way adults behave when they think children aren’t watching. The result is a narrative that feels intimate yet disquieting, as though you’re piecing together a puzzle from the edges inward.
What makes the book so effective is its emotional realism. Nina Bawden never resorts to melodrama; instead, she lets the unease accumulate slowly. The adults are flawed, distracted, sometimes careless, and the children absorb more than anyone realises. The tension between what is said and what is felt gives the novel its power. What struck me most while reading Tortoise by Candlelight was how deeply unsettling it felt, even though it carried the unmistakable warmth and cadence of the Nina Bawden novels I adored as a child. The synopsis sets the stage for a story about Emmeline and her siblings navigating a household full of emotional fractures, but living inside the novel felt far more intimate, ike being a child again, noticing every adult whisper, every shift in atmosphere, every unspoken tension.
That unease crept up on me and i was transported back to when I read The Peppermint Pig, one of my childhood favourites, where the eventual killing of the pig left me desperately sobbing. This author wrote stories that appear gentle on the surface, almost cosy, yet she threads them with emotional truths sharp enough to wound. Tortoise by Candlelight carries that same duality: the tenderness of childhood perspective intertwined with the quiet devastation of realising the adults around you are not as steady or safe as you once believed.
The book’s atmosphere is what lingered with me. It’s not dramatic, not loud, but quietly disquieting... A haunting, beautifully observed novel that stays with you precisely because it feels so true.
September 10, 2026
Tortoise by Candlelight is one of the titles in The Mermaid Collection, which brings together lesser-known novels by well-known female novelists. This story follows Emmie Bean, an awkward teenager trying to navigate family life while caught between her troubled parents and her siblings' various dramas. Her older sister Alice seems far more confident and experienced, particularly when it comes to boys, while her younger brother Oliver has a habit of nicking things, leaving Emmie feeling responsible for covering for him. With an absent mother and a father who is usually drunk, Emmie often feels isolated and burdened by the chaos around her.
The arrival of a new couple next door shifts the family's dynamics further. Both Emmie and Oliver find themselves drawn to the newcomers in different ways, creating a growing sense of unease that runs through the novel. Bawden captures the awkwardness and uncertainty of adolescence well, particularly through Emmie's perspective as she tries to make sense of the people around her and her place within the family.
Although this was an okay read, it did not do a great deal for me personally. Nothing felt especially unique or particularly gripping, and I never became fully invested in the story. That said, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read a novel that has largely fallen out of the spotlight, and The Mermaid Collection is an interesting way of bringing these overlooked works back to readers.
Copilot assisted me with the writing of this review - based on prompts taken from my notes of reading the book.
The arrival of a new couple next door shifts the family's dynamics further. Both Emmie and Oliver find themselves drawn to the newcomers in different ways, creating a growing sense of unease that runs through the novel. Bawden captures the awkwardness and uncertainty of adolescence well, particularly through Emmie's perspective as she tries to make sense of the people around her and her place within the family.
Although this was an okay read, it did not do a great deal for me personally. Nothing felt especially unique or particularly gripping, and I never became fully invested in the story. That said, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read a novel that has largely fallen out of the spotlight, and The Mermaid Collection is an interesting way of bringing these overlooked works back to readers.
Copilot assisted me with the writing of this review - based on prompts taken from my notes of reading the book.
May 2, 2026
I really enjoyed this coming of age story/family saga. It reminded me of another book I loved, 'I capture the castle' by Dodie Smith. Although sad in parts (eg the children are somewhat neglected) it is a very good study in human nature, life and society and has plenty of uplifting moments too.
September 7, 2026
I read Nina Bawden as a child and wanted to discover what her adult books were like. I really enjoyed this story of a quirky family and she often writes really well from the child's perspective. It was funny and moving, touching on themes of grief and loss.
June 21, 2026
3.5 stars
April 19, 2013
I liked it. A bit unusual but not too unusual. Easy to read.
November 4, 2017
I liked this book. It was about young people. If it was supposed to be a kids book, of that I’m not sure. The characters seemed quite real, and I’m always a fan of the antihero, which Emmie is.
April 3, 2013
I love Nina Bawden so much!
More constructive review to follow!
More constructive review to follow!
October 14, 2016
My first foray into Nina's adult books, and I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews