I often think long and hard about what to read at particular times or in particular places, and Christmas is no exception. When December strikes, I find I want to read Christmassy books. I want to lose myself in a snowy world of yester year, or in the glitter and twinkling stars of someone else’s fairy tale.
I want to read those books which will have me longing to pour myself a suitably festive drink and curl up with a mince pie beneath the fairy lights.
Perhaps this year more than ever many of us will be losing ourself in stories and books.
I shall be spending much of this Festive season in London and I am especially looking forward to reading a few Christmas stories set in my home city….because no where does Christmas like London does Christmas!
Below are a selection of Christmas novels all set in London. Some very familiar to me and other newer ones I may be popping into my Christmas shopping basket later this week!
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
There can be fewer more well known Christmas stories than A Christmas Carol. It has been told in every conceivable way and is an obligatory feature of many peoples Christmases, mine included. This story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his journey to discover the true meaning of Christmas via a series of ghostly visitors is a classic and one to add to your Christmas reading list.
Mr Dickens Carol – Samantha Silva
I read this book a couple of years ago and find myself recommending it every year. This book is the imagining behind Dickens’ Christmas Carol. What led him to write it and where all those well known characters have their origins. Fact and fiction are seamlessly knitted together. Carefully injected with a little bit of magic this creates a charming story, full of warmth with an unexpected and lovely twist. It will transport you to Dickensian London with all the sights, sounds, and of course food of a Victorian Christmas.
One Day in December – Josie Silver
Some holiday romance anyone?
Through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day in London, Laurie sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away. She meets him a year later, only he happens to be going out with her best friend. The novel follows Laurie, Sarah and ‘the one’ through ten years of love, heartbreak and friendship.
Christmas in London – Antia Hughes
This is a recommendation from the Oprah Winfrey herself as one of her 35 best every Christmas reads! She says ‘A wintry holiday story that combines all your favourite things: London, cinnamon rolls, and reality TV. When Manhattan baker Louisa learns her gooey treats are a hit with a local production company, she’s recruited to join the team for their annual Christmas Eve dinner special filmed across the pond at the posh Claridge’s hotel. Christmas and Claridges, a delicious combo!
The 101 Dalmations – Dodie Smith
Pongo is bored of his bachelor life and is looking for a companion for both himself and his owner Roger. When he spies Perdita and her owner Anita, he plays Cupid and drags Roger to the romantic setting of the Queen Mary’s Rose Garden in Regents park to orchestrate a meeting with them both. The match making is a success and Perdita eventually gives birth to 15 puppies who are kidnapped by Cruella De Vil. Pongo and Perdita go in search of them, finding them and many more puppies beside.
On Christmas Eve, Roger and Anita are attempting to celebrate Christmas whilst missing their canine companions. Thankfully, they hear barking outside and thier house is suddenly filled with dogs as Pongo and Perdita return with their own puppies and 84 extra!
“Now carols are always beautiful but if you are sad they can make you feel sadder. (There are some people who always find beauty makes them feel sadder, which is a very mysterious thing.)”
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
This isn’t completely London based, but London certainly features in this collection of short stories which I think means I can include it. We all need a little bit of Christmas crime in the festive season and who better to bring that than the queen of crime herself Agatha Christie.
Crime at Christmas by CHB Kitchin
Another Christmas Crime novel. For some reason, Christmas seems to lend itself to crime fiction! This one is set in beautiful leafy Hampstead.
“It’s Christmas at Hampstead’s Beresford Lodge. A group of relatives and intimate friends gather to celebrate the festive season, but their party is rudely interrupted by a violent death. It isn’t long before a second body is discovered. Can the murderer be one of those in the great house?”
Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb
Although the title may suggest otherwise, this does qualify as a London Christmas read. I love the sound of this war time novel set in WW1. It is a mix of fiction and non fiction and is the story of Evie who watches her brother Wil and his best friend Tom leave London for war duty, believing the three will reunite at Christmas and celebrate on the streets of Paris. Of course, the war has other ideas. Tom and Evie’s lives become bound together by the letters and telegrams, notes and stories that travel between them, from the front line in France to a quiet suburb of London. But as their friendship flourishes, there is far more than words held between the pages of Tom and Evie’s letters.
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillroy
This is one of Oprah’s recommended ‘holiday reads’ a contemporary romance which tells the story of what happens when Vivian accompanies her daughter on a work project for the queen, she falls in love with royal staff member Malcolm. “There are meet-cutes, mistletoe makeouts, and merry lovemaking in this novel”
This might be one for those fans of The Crown who have already binged on the 4th season and need another royal fix!
A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
This isn’t exactly a cosy Christmas read, but it is very much a London Christmas book. Everything takes place in the week before Christmas. The lives of seven individual characters are tracked over seven wintery days leading up to Christmas. it has been described as “a sweeping, Dickensian look at contemporary London”
And when I need a little holiday from London and an escape to the country, I shall be losing myself in the delightful world of Miss Reads’ stories of Christmas at Fairacre.
I would love to know what your Christmas reading choices are.
I love a Christmas book in December. I adore Nancy Mitford and have discovered a gem that I haven’t read – ‘Lady Bobbin is holding a Christmas house party….’. I can’t wait to dive in – The Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford. Enjoy your December reading xx
Author
I love The Christmas Pudding too. I haven’t read ‘Lady Bobbin is holding a Christmas house party’ either but it sounds right up my street!