Nostalgic Christmas Indulgences by Eleri Grace

 I haven't written a new holiday themed romance for this season to share with you, but my initial thought was that I would share a few recommendations for similar books and movies for readers who enjoy a nostalgic Christmas feel this time of year. Unfortunately, I believe there is still a gaping hole in the Christmas novels market for period pieces set in the years where all our classic Christmas music originated: 1930s-1960s. If I had more time these days, I would try to use the winter season to write a few Christmas novellas to release next fall!

While I couldn't find any novels that were directly set in the 40s, I sure found many where the cover might have led me to believe the novel was set in that era. The retro look and imagery from those years remains a strong sentimental pull that many cover artists are clearly tapping into. So I decided to share a few of my favorite covers with that nostalgic feel. Perhaps you'll find some good novels to explore in these highlighted covers, but at the very least, my hope is that you'll find joy in the beauty and nostalgia of these gorgeous holiday book covers!

This one uses a montage of very classic-inspired Christmas imagery to great effect!

This cover puts me in mind of "Christmas Story" (which was surprisingly set in the late 1940s). 

Classic Christmas ornaments paired with touches of greenery and the gingerbread men that might be strung on old-time Christmas trees. 

I think it's the font as much as anything that evokes a more nostalgic feel in this cover-art. 

I can recommend more than the cover-art with this one -- it's a really lovely novel for fans of historical fiction to read in the holiday season.  

This cover puts me in mind of old-time small town Christmas scenes. 

Classic look of older small town setting with the Main Street decorations. 

The soft look of this cover paired with the retro-style decorations on the light posts and fences evoke a simpler time.

This cover was absolutely inspired by the 1940s (or maybe early 1950s) -- love this one!

Again, other than the one noted, I've not read any of these novels so I'm not leaving specific reading recommendations so much as sharing some beautiful cover art that spoke to me in the season.

You can read more about me and my writing on my website and follow me on social media.  

A Christmas Story by Eleri Grace

I have a more contemporary holiday reading recommendation to share, but I wanted to start with a choice set closer to the time period in which I write (WW2). All these years that I’ve enjoyed watching this classic movie during the holiday season I had mentally dated its setting as post-WW2. I always assumed it was set during the ten years immediately after the war (1945-55). Wrong. While looking through my Christmas books for something to share with our readers, I came across the small book version of “A Christmas Story.”

 

The jacket copy mentioned that it was set in the Great Depression years. Online research reveals that a calendar seen in the film sets it during 1939, but the decoder pen that Ralph receives from the radio show is a 1940 model. In any case, clearly it’s set just prior to the American entry into the war.

 

The book is a collection of the humorous sketches that Jean Shepherd published in the 1960s that were the foundation for the screenplay. I also had never realized that Shepherd narrated the movie as the adult Ralph.

 

For an era that inspired some of our most beloved secular Christmas tunes and provides the setting for classic films such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” I had trouble locating any holiday novels set during that time period. This is obviously a gap I should endeavor to fill with some Christmas love stories set in the war year! 

 

For a more contemporary holiday read, I absolutely adored Josie Silver’s “One Day in December” from a few years ago and would happily read it again this season. 

 

In the opening scene, the down-on-her-luck but plucky heroine spots a handsome boy and experiences a jarring “love at first sight” sensation just as her bus pulls away. Weeks later, she reconnects with the boy from the bus when he is introduced at a Christmas party as her best friend’s new boyfriend. Over the next ten years, Laurie and Jack’s relationship takes surprising twists and turns before delivering a heartwarming and sing-it-from-the-rooftops happy Christmas-time ending. Silver brilliantly draws from the very best romantic-comedy classics – if you enjoy “When Harry Meets Sally,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” you’ll hear subtle echoes of the tropes they use, albeit sprinkled with Silver’s own special touch. 

 

 

 

You can learn more about me on my website and connect with me through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. My WW2 romances are available through Amazon.