By the Light of a Candle is a translation of the diaries and letters kept by Ragip Nurettin Ege, a Turkish reserve officer during the First World War. Discovered shortly before Ege’s death in 1960, the diaries were translated by his daughter from Ottoman Turkish into English to bring his experiences to the English-speaking audience. The documents shed light on an one soldier’s experience of the tragic events of the First World War. But Ege’s diaries also comprise a family history as he describes his youth and his prolonged courtship of future wife. In addition to the translated documents, Ege’s daughter, Günes Ege-Akter also includes a historical sketch of the period during which her father wrote his diaries.