Festive-themed fiction
This time of year is often fraught with end-of-year activities, to-do lists and, of course, shopping. If you're buying a Kris Kringle gift, a stocking filler, or even treating yourself, here are some festive-themed fiction ideas to help ease your mind.
For the cosy crime lover 🕵🏻♀️
Everyone this Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson
My name's Ernest Cunningham. I used to be a fan of reading Golden Age murder mysteries, until I found myself with a haphazard career getting stuck in the middle of real-life ones. I'd hoped, this Christmas, that any self-respecting murderer would kick their feet up and take it easy over the holidays. I was wrong.
So here I am, backstage at the show of world-famous magician Rylan Blaze, whose benefactor has just been murdered. My suspects are all professional tricksters: masters of the art of misdirection. My clues are even more abstract: A suspect covered in blood, without a memory of how it got there; A murder committed without setting foot inside the room where it happens; And an advent calendar. Because, you know, it's Christmas.
Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie
An all-new collection of winter-themed mysteries from the master of the genre, just in time for the festive period.
There’s a chill in the air and the days are growing shorter … It’s the perfect time to curl up in front of a crackling fireplace with this winter-themed collection from legendary mystery writer Agatha Christie. But beware of deadly snowdrifts and dangerous gifts, poisoned meals and mysterious guests. This compendium of short stories, some featuring beloved detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, is an essential omnibus for Christie fans and the perfect gift for mystery lovers.
For the traditionalist ⛄
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey to show him the error of his nasty ways. By visiting his past, present and future, Scrooge learns to love Christmas and the people all around him.
Also see this edition of A Christmas Carol.
The Nutcracker by E.T.A Hoffmann (& various translators)
The gift of a handsomely decorated, enigmatic nutcracker sets the stage for a Christmas like no other: there will be legends of ancient curses, battles with the dreaded Mouse King, and a visit to the wonderful Kingdom of Dolls. The inspiration for the classic ballet, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s irresistible tale of magic and mystery continues to be the perfect encapsulation of a child’s wonder at Christmas.
For the romantic ❤️
The Christmas Fix by Lucy Score
Single dad Noah takes his responsibilities seriously. When a late season hurricane turns Merry, Connecticut, into a disaster, he's left scrambling to pick up the pieces of the town he loves. At least, until home renovation expert and smoking hot reality TV star Catalina King arrives with a camera crew and a budget big enough to put the town back together again. But Noah doesn't want a celebrity diva capitalizing on their tragedy or filling his daughter's head with visions of glitz and glam.
Blonde bombshell Cat is used to being underestimated, but Noah has a knack for getting under her skin. They can't be in a room together without rubbing each other the wrong way ... except that time in the dark alley where the rubbing was just right. Can these enemies work together to pull off a Christmas miracle or will their fighting leave them both on the naughty list?
Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone and desperate for money.
Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days-until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancee to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack – the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.
For a bit of whimsy ✨
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke & Victoria Sawdon (illus.)
'A church is a sort of wood. A wood is a sort of church. They're the same thing really.'
Nineteen-year-old Merowdis Scott is an unusual girl. She can talk to animals and trees and she is only ever happy when she is walking in the woods.
One snowy afternoon, out with her dogs and Apple the pig, Merowdis encounters a blackbird and a fox. As darkness falls, a strange figure enters in their midst and the path of her life is changed forever.
Hogfather: (Discworld Novel 20) by Terry Pratchett
‘Twas the night before Hogswatch and all through the house … something was missing.'
The stockings are hanging ready, the sherry and pies are waiting by the fireplace – but where is the jolly fat man with his sack? It’s not right to find Death creeping down chimneys and trying to say Ho Ho Ho – but someone’s got to bring the little kiddies their presents. Or else they might stop believing. Belief is important in Discworld, particularly on the last night of the year when the time is turning. If the real man in the red suit isn’t found by morning, there won’t be a morning. Ever again …
A festive feast of darkness, jolly robins and tinsel. As they say: 'You’d better watch out …'
For the time-poor ⌚
A French Christmas by Various authors
Sparkling Parisian streets, opulent feasts, wandering orphans, kindly monks, oysters, bonbons, flickering desire, and more than a little wine: this collection of stories proves that the French have truly mastered Christmas.
Bringing together the best French Christmas stories of all time, this lovely book includes classics by Guy de Maupassant and Alphonse Daudet, plus stories by the esteemed twentieth-century author Irene Nemirovsky and contemporary writers Dominique Fabre and Jean-Philippe Blondel. Let these generous, joyous stories transport you and your loved ones into the heart of a very French Christmas.
Reginald's Christmas Revel by Saki
Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.
With his signature flair and razor-sharp wit, Saki is an undisputed master of the short story. His tales are by turns hilarious, festive, supernatural and macabre, but all offer fabulous, bite-sized satires of a decadent upper-class Edwardian world.
For the literary-minded 📚🖋️
Winter by Ali Smith
Winter? Bleak. Earth as iron, water as stone, so the old song goes. But winter makes things visible. And Christmas is a time for family reunions, unexpected guests and evergreen truths.
It’s December in Cornwall and Art’s mother is seeing things. Art has problems too. His girlfriend has left so he’s paying Lux, a young immigrant he found on the street, to impersonate her – but Lux has no intention of sticking to the script. And Iris, Art’s prodigal aunt, septuagenarian CND-er and black sheep of the family, is about to arrive with a car full of food and a throat full of protest songs. Four people, strangers and family, in a fifteen-bedroom house for Christmas – will there be enough room for everyone?
Brightly Shining by Ingvild Rishol & Caroline Waight (trans.)
Christmas is just around the corner, and Ronja and Melissa's father is out of work. When ten-year-old Ronja hears about a job selling Christmas trees, she thinks it might be the stroke of luck they all need. Soon, the fridge fills with food and their father comes home smiling, covered in spruce needles. But the local pub has an irresistible pull and he quickly abandons his responsibilities.
Melissa decides to take his place at the Christmas tree stand, working before and after school, and bringing Ronja with her. On rare breaks in the dark of a Norwegian December they dream of a brighter place of kindness and plenty – and find there are some people in the world who might help them.
