The Marlow Murder Club is about three women from different walks of life who unite to solve murders in their town. The characters are quirky and fun, and the story is intriguing and funny.
Judith Potts is swimming naked in the Thames River when she hears a gunshot from her neighbor’s property. Swimming naked is something she does to relax and clear her mind. On this night, though, she is not relaxed because she can’t get out of the river to find out what has happened to her neighbor, Stefan. Instead, she has to swim back to her house and call the police who go to her neighbor’s house, but find nothing they say.
Judith decides to return to her neighbor’s house the next day and finds him floating, dead, in the river. She’d already decided the police weren’t doing their job when they didn’t find him the night before. Now she really believes she could do a better job finding her neighbor’s killer so she starts asking questions around town herself.
She meets Becks Starling, the vicar’s wife while looking for information about the murder. Becks, normally a bit refined and proper woman, is hiding in the closet in the church choir room when Judith finds her, trying to avoid dealing with members of the congregation. Before long Becks is pulled into the mystery as well, seeing it as a way to break out of her mundane life of helping her husband with church business.
Not long after the first murder, there is another one – this time a taxi driver. Judith runs into Suzie Harris, the second murder victim’s dog walker.
While Judith is fairly eccentric, slightly uptight, and methodical, Suzie is a bit of an airhead and all over the place. She is scattered and drives a bit of a beat-up dog walking van.
Judith begins to wonder if the two murders might be connected and suddenly we have three women joining together to find out what in the world is going on in their small town.
Each woman has their own “secrets” to work through as well.
DS Tanika Malik is on the police force and the head investigator on the murder since the main investigator is currently on an extended break. Judith is more than willing to help her but Tanika isn’t interested – not at first, at least. Soon, though, she sees she’s going to need some extra help and lets the women help as much as they can.
The exposition at the end of the book was quite long and, as my husband said, would be better suited for TV, which is fitting since Thorogood created the hit cozy mystery show Death in Paradise and also wrote a mini-series TV version of The Marlow Mystery Club for Amazon. I watched the show after I read the book and it was good and well-acted, but did have a few changes from the book. The confrontation with the guilty person – or one of them – was drawn out like in the book and a bit unrealistic but still a nail-biter and fun to watch.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I guessed at least part of the mystery before the end, but I didn’t mind because the characters and how they got to the solution were so interesting and fun.
For people who prefer their books without swear words, sex, or violence this one almost fits that bill. There is no sex or violence, but there was a large swear word very close to the end of the book that did not fit with the rest of the book and came out of nowhere. It didn’t take away from the rest of the story, though, and I’d still recommend the book.
Oops! There has been a minor snafu for our Comfy, Christmas Link-Up! Our link-up closed earlier than we wanted, so we’ve had to open a second one.
All this means is that if you want to link a Christmas/holiday themed post you won’t be able to add one in the first link-up, but you can in the second/new one. Those posts that were shared in the first link-up are still available to read and I hope you will visit them here:
But you can also find it under the menu item Comfy, Cozy Christmas at the top of the page. We’ve had bloggers participating this year and sharing their holiday-themed posts with us and we love it! Let’s keep the comfy spirit flowing right now. We all need it!
Welcome to my Sunday Chat where I ramble about what’s been going on in my world, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading, watching, listening to, andwhat I’ve been writing.
Somewhere around Christmas I take advantage of a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale and get a month of the Hallmark channel on Amazon so I can watch some of their ridiculously sappy movies.
This year I missed the sale but still thought I’d get a subscription for a month.
Amazon said I could indeed have that subscription.
For $7.99 a month.
$8.
Hallmark Channel thinks they are worth $8 a month. Like I’m going to watch more than two or three of their movies. Ever.
I looked at one of the movies I thought I might watch and they wanted me to pay $5 just to rent it. I’m sorry but Hallmark movies are not worth $5 to watch and they are not worth me paying $8 a month when I am already paying for other channels and services. That thought made me want to find out how much those other services had jumped up to and I about fell off the couch.
We had five other subscriptions and most of them were $8 or $9 a month. I ended up unsubscribing from a few and keeping the subscription of one when they offered me more than 50 percent off for the next three months. The Husband and I have decided we will rotate subscriptions – getting some of them every other month instead of every month.
For example, I will be choosing to add PBS Masterpiece back in January so I can watch All Creatures Great and Small’s new season.
What is insane to me is how we left cable for streaming to save money and now companies are charging so much for their services, breaking them into all these individual channels they want you to pay for, we were paying almost as much for streaming services as we did for cable.
It’s really out of control. Luckily, we have the choice to not sign up for certain services and we also have a huge DVD collection so I think this first word problem will not overwhelm us.
Last week was a very cold week so we didn’t really go anywhere – mainly because it was a very cold week. Had it not been such a cold and miserable week I might not have noticed how much we were being ripped off by Amazon and the other streaming services.
We got the woodstove going and ran the fire all week. It was nice and cozy in the house most of the days – except one day when I let the fire go too low and almost shivered out of my clothes while getting dinner ready.
Thankfully, next week is supposed to be warmer. By warmer, I of course mean highs of 40 a couple days and one day of a high of 51. Still not sandals weather, but we will take it. We will most likely still light a fire during the day to keep us from having to use the heating oil because the nights are still expected to be very cold.
Lighting fires will be easier thanks to a delivery of wood we received Saturday morning. It will probably be our last delivery of the winter season.
As I began writing this post, I tried to think why I didn’t read more books this week. I had time but I guess I spent a lot of it writing blog posts, building fires, cooking dinners, and maybe a bit worrying about my sister-in-law who is still in the hospital with health issues. I’d love if you could say some prayers for her.
I was also reading Johnny Tremain for school with the youngest and doing homeschool with her.
I’m still working on A Death in Marlow, which is actually a very easy read and I’ll probably finish this week. I was distracted from it this past week by A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson which was a fun, quick, cozy Christmas read and then shared a review of it. I also plan to share a review this week on The Marlow Mystery Club, which I read a couple of weeks ago.
I am continuing to read The Hound of the Baskerville’s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fairly slowly with The Boy for school and I hope to read another Christmas-themed novella this week – Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock.
The Husband has started his 111th book of the year, High Priest of California by Charles Willeford.
The Boy is reading The Hound of the Baskerville’s with me but is sort of dragging his feet right now.
Little Miss is listening to Caddie Woodlawn at night before bed and reading Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets but took a break from reading it this week.
I watched three Hallmark Christmas movies this past week. They were sort of awful and sort of good at the same time – like any Hallmark movie.
I also watched Just A Few Acres Farm’s videos quite a bit this week. It is so relaxing to watch him do simple things like rebuilding a tractor engine or feed the cows.
Don’t forget that Erin and I are hosting the Comfy, Cozy Christmas link up, which you can find at the top of the page. The link-up is for any holiday-related posts .
What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
I don’t often read Christmas books because – well, sometimes they seem like they are just thrown out there to get in on the hype of the season and sell books but then end up being not very good.
I wanted something that would help kick off the Christmas season, though, so right before Thanksgiving I picked up A Quilt for Christmas by Melody Carlson at my local library. I could see it was a quick read but still wasn’t so sure about it.
It turned out to be just the book I needed. It was so well written and I was thoroughly impressed with how Carlson was able to develop the characters and story so well in such a short amount of time.
I fell in love with the characters so quickly and was overjoyed when there was – not to spoil the book too much but. . . – a happy ending.
How that happy ending is reached isn’t something I’ll spoil though.
Vera is such a delightful main character already but her character becomes even more charming as she interacts with her neighbors and her new friends.
I love how this book presented realistic and sometimes heartbreaking circumstances for the characters but didn’t bring the mood down in the process. I didn’t feel weighed down with the sadness a couple of the characters had faced in their life, but yet still felt the emotion of what they had faced.
More than once I found myself wiping my eyes and wishing I could give a couple of the characters a hug.
While many modern Christmas books involve romances of some sort, this was a unique story involving friendship with only a small underlying story that involved a very light romance.
The book had a great message throughout and especially at the end.
This book is listed under Christian Fiction but there was not a pushy or over-the-top Christian message all. There was one small mention of Jesus during a conversation but, again, not preachy at all. As I was reading the book I wasn’t even sure it was a Christian book or not. I didn’t check until I was writing up this recommendation.
This book has made me want to check out other books by Carlson.
Have you read this book or any other books by her?
*This post is also part of the Comfy, Cozy Christmas Link Up for 2024. If you have a Christmas/holiday post you would like to share you can find the link HERE or at the top of the page here on my blog.
I’m so glad you are here and participating in our weekly link-up of family-friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link-up.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago. You can share up to three links each week.
We are always looking for additional hosts so let us know if you want to help out!
I stumbled on The Rage of Paris, a movie from 1938, by accident when one movie I was watching on Amazon Prime ended and this one started. I ended up loving it and also fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. who I had never heard of before this movie.
Where had I been? He was so handsome and charming in this movie, which made me want to look up more information about him. I also now want to find more movies starring him. I feel a Winter or Spring of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. coming up
“Douglas Fairbanks Jr. must have been famous back in the day because his name is even in the title of the movie on Amazon,” I said to myself.
I later asked my mom and dad about him and they assured me he was very famous, but, Mom said, “That was way before my time, just so we are clear here.”
Mom and Dad were, incidentally, born in 1944. Fairbanks Jr. started his career much earlier.
Before we learn about him, though, I’ll share about the movie, which starts with the main character, Nicole de Cortillion, (Danielle Darrieux) a French woman in New York City, who is desperately looking for a job. There is a hilarious mixup where she asks the head of a modeling agency for work and he suggests a job with a photographer who wants female models who will model with drapes on – and nothing else. The photographer is impatient and wants the job done fast, she’s told.
Nicole is horrified and says she won’t do it, but when another model comes in and says she will, Nicole doesn’t want to lose the job and while the model and the head of the agency are chatting, she snatches the address from the top of the desk.
The only problem is that she’s grabbed the wrong address. The address she has is for a man simply looking for some proof photographs for an advertising campaign that doesn’t involve scantily clad women.
The man is Jim Trevor (Fairbanks) who is beyond confused when he walks into his office after a meeting and finds Nicole stripping to prepare for the photos.
It is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie because it’s clear he doesn’t have any idea what she’s doing and both wants to stop her and not stop her. He tries to ask what she’s doing and she asks where his camera is. A very funny exchange occurs during which Jim starts to think this woman is looking for a quick buck in a very solicitous way.
I found a clip for you of the witty exchange:
Back at her apartment, her landlady says she’s kicking her out for not paying rent. Her neighbor, Gloria, (Helen Broderick) having it though and tells the landlady that she will cover her rent. She then brings Nicole into her apartment and tells her she wishes they could marry rich men and not have to worry about bills anymore. That’s when an idea strikes Gloria. She has a friend who is employed as a maitre’d at a famous hotel. Maybe he would give Nicole a job. They head to the hotel, but the man – Mike (Mischa Auer) – says he can’t give her a job because soon he’s going to open his own restaurant. All he needs is $3,000 to get the restaurant.
Another idea strikes Gloria when she sees all the women dancing with the wealthy men in the dining room. What if they have Nicole seduce a millionaire and marry him? Then she won’t have to find a job and she can also give money to Gloria and Mike. Gloria talks Mike into the scheme. They’ll rent a room at the hotel with his help. Gloria will pretend to be Nicole’s aunt and together they will set their eyes on millionaire Bill Duncan. If Nicole can convince him to marry her they’ve got it made.
All is going well until Nicole, Gloria, and Bill attend an opera and run into Bill’s friend – none other than Jim Trevor.
The scene where they recognize each other across two balconies is comedy gold.
I absolutely could not stop laughing.
I’ve left a clip of it that I found on YouTube here for you:
Nicole does her best to hide from Jim Trevors but it doesn’t work and when he gets her alone later in the evening he tells her she needs to tell Bill Duncan the truth – which is that she isn’t a rich baroness from Paris – but instead a poor girl trying to swindle him into marrying her.
She promises she’ll tell Bill Duncan but she double crosses Jim in a very funny scene that leaves Jim steaming and more determined than ever to make her tell the truth. The rest of the movie is him doing just this.
The Rage of Paris did well at the box office in 1938 and was nominated for two Venice Film Festival Awards, winning in the category of Special Recommendation.
I had never heard of either of these actors when I started the movie.
For some background on Douglas Fairbanks Jr. – his father, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., was one of cinema’s first icons, noted for swashbuckling adventure films as The Mark of Zorro, Robin Hood, and The Thief of Bagdad. Fairbanks had small roles in his father’s films American Aristocracy (1916) and The Three Musketeers (1921). Fairbanks Jr.’s mother was Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist Daniel J. Sully.
His parents divorced when he was nine and he lived part-time with his mother in France, New York, London, and California.
Fairbanks started acting at the age of 13 when he was given a contract simply because he was the son of a famous actor. The film he first starred in flopped, though, and he returned to Paris to continue his studies. He returned to Hollywood at the age of 14 and became a camera assistant at what he called “starvation wages.”
His father didn’t want him to get into acting at such a young age, but instead wanted him to continue his education.
He worked steadily from 1921 to 1956 but he took a break during World War II to become a highly decorated officer by serving in the U.S. Navy as a reserve officer. He was a part of many, many missions including one where he was part of a recruitment of 180 officers and 300 enlisted men for the “Beach Jumpers” program. This program was aimed at simulating amphibious landings with a limited force, operating miles from the actual landing but using deception to make the enemy believe it was the actual landing place.
I don’t like using Wikipedia as a source anymore for a variety of reasons, but according to their page on Fairbanks, “For his planning the diversion-deception operations and his part in the amphibious assault on Southern France, Lieutenant Commander Fairbanks was awarded the United States Navy’s Legion of Merit with bronze V (for valor), the Italian War Cross for Military Valor, the French Légion d’honneur and the Croix de Guerre with Palm, and the British Distinguished Service Cross.
Fairbanks was also awarded the Silver Star for valor displayed while serving on PT boats and in 1942, made an Officer of the National Order of the Southern Cross, conferred by the Brazilian government. . . . Fairbanks stayed in the US Naval Reserve after the war, and ultimately retired as a captain in 1954. In 1982, Fairbanks was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit for his contribution to the relief of the needy in occupied Germany.”
He returned to acting after the war and starred in many “swashbuckling movies” as well as British films and television since he moved back to the UK after the war and stayed there for many years before moving to Florida (is it just me or do a lot of Brits move to Florida?).
As for his co-star, Darrieux, this was her first American film. She was a star in France before World War II. She started acting at the age of 14.
She continued acting during World War II and the German occupation of France, which was something she was frowned upon for. Later, though, it was believed she’d been threatened by the head of the only studio in operation at the time – owned by a German who threatened to have her brother deported if she didn’t perform.
Darrieux had a lengthy film career in France, the United States, and Britain, and starred in Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1955), whose theme of uninhibited sexuality led to its being proscribed by Catholic censors in the United States. She then played a supporting role in her last American film, United Artists’ epic Alexander the Great (1956) starring Richard Burton and Claire Bloom.
She acted from 1931 to 2002.
Later in her career she became involved in musical theater and even performed concerts in the 1960s. She passed away at the age of 100 in 2017. What a full life!
According to a blog dedicated to Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Darrieux’s life was tough at times, even if it was full, especially while filming The Rage of Paris.
“Fairbanks remembers working with Darrieux fondly,” Elizabeth from the blog Douglasfairbanksjr.wordpress.com. “Unfortunately at the time, she was a victim of physical abuse at the hands of her husband. Filming had to be postponed for a short while as she recovered from a black eye given to her by her husband.”
The blogger goes on to say that Darrieux’s overbearing husband kept her from socializing too much with others on set. Thankfully, not long after the premiere of The Rage of Paris, Darrieux left her husband.
Fairbanks wrote in his memoir, “I’ve always hoped she was consoled by the fact that the picture turned out well and proved very popular.”
I also agree with the author of the blog who said she felt The Rage of Paris “contains one of the best on-screen chemistries and one of the best romantic build-ups on film.”
The chemistry between Darrieux and Fairbanks Jr. was incredible and I was sad to read that they only made one film together. If they were only going to make one film together, though, I’m glad it was this one.
So, tell me, have you seen this film or any of Douglas Fairbanks Jr.’s other films? How about Darrieux? Have you seen any other films by her? And should I have a Douglas Fairbanks Jr. marathon for myself this winter?
For my husband, part of October and much of November were filled with rehearsals for a radio play version of It’s A Wonderful Life with the local community theater group.
The play is like a play within a play. The characters are all supposed to be radio stars from the days when radio was big who are performing a play for their listeners. This helps the local actors because they can read from the script instead of memorizing lines (which is more time consuming for people who are also working full time) and it also is fun because the viewer gets to imagine what it was like to record radio specials back in the day.
Last summer The Husband (my blog nickname for my husband, who has a real name that most people in my area know since he is the editor of the local newspaper), performed in The War of the Worlds, another radio play, and had a lot of fun.
That play was his first time really acting and he had a smaller part. This time around he had to do voices for 13 different characters with the main ones being – the angel Joseph, Uncle Billy, and Mr. Potter. At one point he even had to talk to himself, changing voices back and forth.
He knocked every character he played out of the park, and I am not just saying that because I am his wife. He really did an amazing job and I’m so happy because I know how hard he worked trying to figure out how he would perform each voice. I’m also proud of him because he isn’t someone who usually puts himself out there in a creative way. For the most part he is like me – an introvert except when working for the paper when it is like we are playing the part of an extrovert.
The play had a cast of eight people all doing a few characters each, except for the woman who was performing the sound effects.
My parents, the kids and I went to the Sunday afternoon showing, and really enjoyed it.
I got teary-eyed more than once. The young man playing George Bailey’s character was fantastic and even sounded like Jimmy Stewart.
I’m sure almost everyone reading this post is familiar with the story of It’s A Wonderful Life. A quick summary: George Bailey always does everything right and for everyone else but every time he thinks he’s going to be able to pursue his own goals in life, something knocks him back – whether it be the sudden death of his father or a run on the building and loan company he ends up running after his father dies.
Before long all the hard luck really beats him down and he contemplates suicide. That plan is stopped by an angel named Clarence who then leads George down a path of seeing what the lives of everyone around him would be like if he wasn’t there anymore.
The movie is based on a short story written in 1939 by Philip Van Doren Stern, a well-respected author from the 1930s, 40s and 50s who was best known for books he wrote about The Civil War. According to the site Unremembered History, Stern tried to sell the short story but no one would pick it up so he printed up 200 Christmas card books and mailed them to friends and family.
“The card book and story somehow caught the attention of RKO Pictures producer David Hempstead who showed it to actor Cary Grant’s agent,” the site states. “In April 1944, RKO bought the rights but failed to create a satisfactory script. Grant went on to make another Christmas movie “The Bishop’s Wife.’ However, another acclaimed Hollywood heavyweight, Frank Capra, who already had three Best Directing Oscars to his name, liked the idea. RKO was happy to unload the rights.
“The story itself is slight, in the sense, it’s short,” Capri said referring to Stern’s book. “But not slight in content.”
A lot was added to the movie to flesh it out, of course, but the basis for it all was the story.
It turns out that Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pa., which is the town I went to high school in and where my husband works at the paper.
Philip Van Doren Stern
The Husband’s boss, the publisher of the newspaper, published a column this past week about that connection.
According to him, it isn’t clear when Stern’s family moved from Wyalusing but it was confirmed through his daughter a few years ago when the paper contacted her, that he was born in the tiny town along the banks of the Susquehanna. So, it’s possible his connection to the small town may have given him some inspiration for the short story, which was called The Greatest Gift.
Stern’s father was a traveling salesman who came from Virgina to Wyalusing with his family. How he ended up in Wyalusing, since his wife was from New Jersey and there was no known connection to any other families in the town, is unknown.
According to local writer and actor Wes Skillings, Stern was born in Wyalusing because his family was renting a house there after his mother worked as a nurse for many years in Philadelphia. Skillings suggests in the information that was printed in the play program that Stern’s mother may have cared for patients who were originally from Wyalusing and formed a bond with the area. Wanting her son to be born somewhere safe and among people she knew, they moved to Wyalusing while she was pregnant.
Sometime after Stern was born, though, the family moved to New Jersey.
Wyalusing is a very small town with a population of 610 people.
If you blink driving through town, you will completely miss the business district. The town’s main attraction is an overlook just outside its border, which provides an amazing view of the Susquehanna River and a place known locally as French Azilum.
The site was meant to be the new home for French Queen Marie Antoinette. She was killed before she could arrive there, but her servants and other noblemen fleeing the guillotine helped settle the area by founding a village of about 250 people. Many returned to France 10 years later after Napoleon Bonaparte granted repatriation rights to those who had fled to escape persecution. Some stayed and settled the area.
There is no evidence that Bedford Falls, the name of the town in The Greatest Gift and It’s A Wonderful Life is based on Wyalusing. The movie version of Bedford Falls is actually modeled after Seneca Falls, N.Y. which is in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Director Frank Capra drove through Seneca Falls on his way back from New York City while coping out shooting locations for the movie.
But, as Skillings wrote, “Bedford Falls may not be Wyalusing, but without Wyalusing there would be no Bedford Falls.”
I wasn’t a fan of It’s A Wonderful Life when I was younger. I had seen several parodies of the movie and figured it was cliché, sappy, and silly. Several years ago, I watched it all the way through and realized it was much more than a simple Christmas movie. There are so many brilliant, emotional, profound scenes in it.
There are the fun scenes – George and Mary so involved in dancing that they don’t notice the gym floor has opened and they are about to fall into the swimming pool. The scene where Mary tries to run away from George, who is about to kiss her, and finds out he’s standing on her robe and now she has to hide in a prickly rose bush with no clothes on.
Then there is the scene where George tells Mary he doesn’t want to stay in Bedford Falls. He’s going to leave and there is nothing she can do about it. In the next few seconds, though, he’s kissing her and they are crying and we all know George isn’t going anywhere.
That scene was made even more emotional by the fact this was Jimmy Stewart’s first movie since returning from World War II and his emotions were raw, right at the surface. His emotional state is on display again when he’s sitting in the bar late in the move after a number of setbacks and he breaks down, asking God for help.
Jimmy wasn’t supposed to break down that way, but he did so organically – still shattered by all he’d seen during the war.
There are many messages in this story written so long ago. First there is a message about facing life’s disappointments with a healthy dose of gratitude mixed in. Life won’t always go the way we want it to. We need to be grateful for what is right in our life.
Another lesson is that tragedy and heartache will strike but what ultimately matters is the people we surround ourselves with. We may not have all the material items, wealth, or prestige we want, but what we do have — the love of our family and friends — is much more important.
At its core, though, is another, poignant message in the movie about our worth, value, and importance to the people around us.
We may feel small and insignificant, like a failure, or invisible, but the lack of our presence can create a monumental, life-changing ripple effect for those we love, beyond what we can imagine.
There are circumstances beyond our control that could remove us from the lives of our loved ones, but if the situation is in our control the best thing we can do is recognize that our worth is not dependent on our success or the opinion of others but on the love others have for us. The love that God has for us.
No matter what circumstance or location inspired The Greatest Gift, Stern’s message lives on through our choice to embrace the belief that he had – that each life is worthy, that serving others is what makes life rich, and that how much love we have will always mean more than how much money we have.
*This post is also part of the Comfy, Cozy Christmas Link Up for 2024. If you have a Christmas/holiday post you would like to share you can find the link HERE or at the top of the page here on my blog.
(Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.)
This week we have a freebie post so now that we are in December, I thought I’d share some book ideas to get you into the Christmas or holiday feels.
Did I just write “feels”? Oh my … I did. Let us overlook that and carry on . . .
I’m starting with this one because this is one I read or read parts of each year now. It’s a favorite Christmas book for me. As my sister-in-law said last night when we were chatting, reading a Jan Karon book is like walking into a warm hug and this book is no different. It’s heartwarming, even though there are some tough topics in it, especially about Father Tim (he’s an Episcopalian priest) as he grapples with his past relationship with his late father.
Description: Millions of Americans have found Mitford to be a favorite home-away-from-home, and countless readers have long wondered what Christmas in Mitford would be like. The eighth Mitford novel provides a glimpse, offering a meditation on the best of all presents: the gift of one’s heart.
Since he was a boy, Father Tim has lived what he calls “the life of the mind” and has never really learned to savor the work of his hands. When he finds a derelict nativity scene that has suffered the indignities of time and neglect, he imagines the excitement in the eyes of his wife, Cynthia, and decides to undertake the daunting task of restoring it. As Father Tim begins his journey, readers are given a seat at Mitford’s holiday table and treated to a magical tale about the true Christmas spirit.
I am actually reading this one right now and am enjoying it.
Description: In this heartwarming Christmas story, widowed Vera Swanson is feeling lonely until young Fiona Albright knocks on her door needing help. With Fiona’s mother seriously ill, Fiona asks Vera to make a special Christmas quilt for her. Vera gathers a group of women, including an artist, a chatty empty nester, and a retired therapist, to fulfill the request. Along the way, Vera discovers the joy of friendship and the warmth of a new “family” during the holiday season.
I have not read this one, but have heard good things about Lynn’s work.
Decription: For the first time in her privileged life, Adelaide Forsythe won’t be swept up in it. She couldn’t be happier about the prospect of a quieter Christmas. That’s not to say her transition from Miss to Mrs. has been without challenge. Though she doesn’t regret marrying for love instead of wealth, she can barely light the hearth or cook more than burnt toast. She feels woefully unprepared to run her own household. Then, on the first Sunday of Advent, winter winds bring change through two unlikely means: a young orphan boy, hiding near Adelaide’s front steps, and a seasoned housekeeper who seems too good to be true. The boy, Jack, claims he isn’t an orphan at all and is desperate to reunite his family. Adelaide and her husband Howard work tirelessly to solve the riddle of Jack’s story, while Adelaide’s new endeavors open her eyes to a world beyond her past experience—and all the challenge and possibility it holds. As Christmas approaches, small glimmers of wonder light the way toward the answers Adaleide seeks and the most miraculous gift of all.
Description: The younger son of Ivy Hill’s family, Richard Brockwell, hasn’t been home for Christmas for years. He prefers to live in the London townhouse, far away from everyone. His mother threatens to stop funding his carefree life–unless he comes home for Christmas. Out of options, he sets out for Ivy Hill, planning to be back on a coach bound for London and his unencumbered bachelor life as soon as the festivities are over. But Christmas in the country presents unforeseen surprises, including encounters with an orphaned apprentice, the first love he disappointed years ago, and Arabella Awdry, a young lady who is far more appealing than he recalled . . . and determined to have nothing to do with him.
(have not read all of these, but have read A Christmas Carol and I did enjoy it.)
Description: This selection of Dickens’s Christmas writings confirms his lasting influence upon our idea of the Christmas spirit: that Christmas is a time for celebration, charity, and memory.
In addition to the beloved A Christmas Carol, this volume includes such festive works as “Christmas Festivities,” “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton,” “A Christmas Tree,” “The Seven Poor Travellers,” The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, and a Christmas episode from Master Humphrey’s Clock. Beyond the holly and the ivy, Charles Dickens’ writings show readers his references to societal issues in nineteenth century England that revolve around Christmas. Dickens explores issues, which relate to class and memory in order to achieve deeper meaning and human qualities for the characters he creates.
(I read a couple of these stories from a book similar to this last year and did enjoy them! I hope to read more from it this year. I think I actually listened to a couple too on Audible.)
Delight lovers of classics with this timeless treasury! From Twain’s missive—penned as “Santa Claus” to his 3-year-old daughter—to charming fireside moments, this Christmas collection features 23 nostalgic tales from Alcott, Dickens, Stowe, Twain, Montgomery, and Howells, along with the poetry of Cook, Rossetti, Thackeray, Kilmer, Longfellow, and Coleridge. Includes a presentation page for personalized gifting.
(Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs turned me on to these types of books last year. There are various versions of these books, all with different novellas collected into one volume. I had to hunt for these books as they are not all in print anymore, with many of them only available on used sites. I tracked this one down on Thriftbooks. I read two of the novellas last year and I’m going to read a couple more this December. I am not a huge romance reader but these are very light and sweet.)
Description: This collection of five holiday-themed Regency romances includes all-new stories by award-winning and bestselling authors Edith Layton, Emma Jensen, Sandra Heath, Barbara Metzger, and Carla Kelly. Celebrate the joys of Christmas in Regency England with five new stories by some of the most beloved Regency authors of all time. Ringing in the season with fireside warmth, holiday wishes, and Yuletide romance, these stories capture the essence of Christmas. A sparkling collection sure to delight readers all year round, with warmth, cheer, and love.
Description: Two heartwarming Yuletide tales in one volume! In Finding Father Christmas, Miranda’s search for her dad leads her to England where a family welcomes her. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her parent? And in Engaging Father Christmas, Miranda plans to accept Ian’s proposal—but the Whitcomb matriarch withholds her blessing.
Description: Curl up with this Yuletide duo! In All Is Calm, special ops agent Brendan and murder witness Lauren seek refuge at Bluebird Ranch. Can they catch the killer? And in All Is Bright, Delilah is deliberately run off the road. Sheriff Tom Bourne is determined to protect her. Will he save her from her shadowy attacker?
(I have watched the movie this is based on but have not read the book.)
Description: Imagine a Victorian England village in the Cotswolds where very little out of the ordinary ever happens . . . except at Christmas time.
This year, Edward Haddington, a lowly candle maker, is visited by a mysterious angel. That angel silently imparts a precious gift—a gift that’s bungled and subsequently lost. The candle maker and his wife, Bea, struggle to find the gift.
And when they do, they have to make a difficult choice. Who among their community is most in need of a Christmas miracle?
(I have not read this one yet but I’ve wanted to read one by Shiloh so I might try to squeeze it in this year.)
Description: It’s the most wonderful time of the year–for everyone except Starr Lewis.
As if going home for the holidays jobless and single wasn’t bad enough, she’s dragged into a holiday season full of activities leading up to her sister’s uber-romantic Christmas Eve wedding–to Starr’s ex-boyfriend. But when her brother’s best friend, Waylon Emmerson, attends their family Thanksgiving, she starts to wonder if maybe coming home for Christmas isn’t so bad after all.
As Starr finds the perfect distraction in helping Waylon make over his late mother’s Christmas shop, the most wonderful time of the year works its magic and the spark between them grows. But with the holidays fast approaching, Starr must decide what she wants out of life after the gifts are unwrapped and the ornaments are put away–to go back to New York City or to open her heart to a love that will last beyond Christmas Day?
Have you read any of these books? Or are you reading anything Christmas-related this year? Let me know in the comments.
*This post is also part of the Comfy, Cozy Christmas Link Up for 2024. If you have a Christmas/holiday post you would like to share you can find the link HERE or at the top of the page here on my blog.
From now until January 2nd, Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs and I will be sharing all of our cozy holiday posts, about movies, gift guides, baking, books, and other surprises we may have in our stockings!
We would love for you to join in with us and share your holiday posts here as well!
These posts can be about movies, about books, about what you are doing and baking, etc. As long as it is holiday related.
It doesn’t have to be just Christmas, just seasonal from any walk of life, culture, or faith that happens between now and January 2nd is welcome! And now, let the festivities commence!!
You can find the link to our Christmas posts under the header Comfy, Cozy Christmas 2024 at the top of my main page.
