Although May is an odd time to review a collection of Christmas stories, I didn’t receive a copy of this book until much after the season. This entertaining collection is ordered by when the story occurs during the festive season and includes works by women published during the 20th century. Some of the authors are well known and others are only remembered now for a specific work. The introduction by Simon Thomas discusses each story in turn and tells something interesting about it.
The first story, “The Turkey Season” by Alice Munro, provides insight into a side of the holidays we may not have considered, factory workers processing turkeys. As usual, Munro is a masterly storyteller.
Some of the stories are amusing, such as “This Year It Will Be Different” by Maeve Binchey, about a housewife who goes on strike during the holidays, or “Skating” by Cornelia Otis Skinner, about a woman’s attempt to learn ice-skating. Others start out amusing but have a deeper meaning, for example, “The Christmas Pageant” by Barbara Robinson, about what happens when “the worst children in the world” get involved in the pageant or “Christmas in a Bavarian Village,” which subtly foreshadows World War II.
I especially liked “The Little Christmas Tree” by Stella Gibbons, about how a solitary woman’s Christmas plans are changed with the arrival of some children and “The Christmas Present” by Richmal Crompton, about an unusual gift passed down in the family from mother to daughter. The book finishes with a sprightly monologue by a black maid in “On Leavin’ Notes” by Alice Childers.
I received this book from the publishers in exchange for a free and fair review.
whatmeread 
Good grief! I thought my afternoon nap must have lasted for six months there and I’d completely missed summer…;) These sound great – I’ll maybe try to fit them in during the season.
You cracked me up again!
I’m not one for Christmas themed books but short stories might be nice.
Something to think about closer to the season, maybe.
Maybe, but like I said, I dislike Christmas themed stories in general (not that I like Hanukkah ones much better). It is more the authors that interest me, and knowing them, they probably won’t make their stories too Christian.
By and large, they aren’t.