Christmas Favorites by Eleri Grace

 Though it seems impossible it can be that time of year again already, the calendar -- if not the weather here in Houston -- says we are indeed entering the festive season. 

Once again, I find myself a bit stumped by the prompt to share a favorite holiday story. With so much of the classic Christmas tunes we still sing today having been originally recorded in the WW2 era, there are surprisingly no true classic Christmas novels set in that same era. One would think that the times that gave us perennial favorites such as "White Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Christmas Song," and "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" would have yielded more novels. If *you* have a favorite Christmas story set in my beloved WW2 era, please do share in the comments!  

Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd, set in 1939, is close, though I think most of us are far more familiar with the 1983 movie than with the original novel. 

So in light of my inability once again to come up with a good recommendation set in my favorite era, this year I will share my favorite novels centered around the season when Charles Dickens penned what many regard as the best Christmas story of all time, "A Christmas Carol." 

In "A Midnight Carol," author Patricia Davis reimagines a financially-strapped Dickens in the fall of 1843, determined to write something "commercial" that will simultaneously save his growing family from ruin and reawaken the festive Christmas seasons of years gone by. It's a short, lively little novel that one can easily read in single sitting, perhaps while snuggled under a fuzzy Christmas blanket. 

Interweaving history and biography with a bit of mystery and a sprinkle of comedic relief, Davis does a masterful job of putting the reader in Victorian London. I always appreciate Davis's atmospheric touches, along with the closer look at the various motivations driving Dickens to create this beloved masterpiece. Readers will cheer for Dickens as he evades the trap his greedy publishers have set and reinvests his beloved London with festive cheer, hope, and Christmas spirit. 

While searching for the title of "Midnight Carol," which I re-read most every year, I came across this recently published novel centered around the same theme and can't wait to devour it this December. The reviews are glowing, and were it not for the balmy temperatures and sunny skies of November in Texas, I would be tempted to curl up with it in advance of the proper season! 

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