Scrutiny of the light curves of the common novae yields important clues concerning both the nature of the nova outburst and the characteristics of the underlying white dwarfs. Ultraviolet and infrared observations have served to make available essentially complete bolometric light curves for several recent novae. These data confirm our earlier prediction that, following maximum, both fast and slow novae experience an epoch (of varying duration) of substantially hydrostatic evolution defined by thermonuclear burning of the residual hydrogen fuel at constant bolometric luminosity. Theoretical studies reveal that the luminosity during this phase of a nova’s evolution is well represented by the Paczynski core mass-luminosity relation for such shell burning configurations involving degenerate stellar cores. This luminosity represents, as well, an increasingly significant fraction of the Eddington luminosity with increasing white dwarf mass.