A beautiful Christmas book

I wrote to her at the time of the Iranian embassy siege because she’d written something in The Observer that I related to. I had a lovely handwritten reply from her saying how terrified she was at the time and how she couldn’t wait to get home to her children that night. For some reason she stopped writing for them soon after that article was written. As a young mother back then I was terrified of the mess the world was in. Dread to think how the me from back then would be feeling now . I listen to a horror podcast called Hypnogoria and have realised that children’s literature and horror stories are quite closely related.

Would it be available from your local library?

Paperback no longer coming up, looks as if there was only one. I’ve found several v reasonable PB versions on AbeBooks, but all from the US and wouldn’t arrive until January.

Luckygirl thank you for that. I may just buy it for myself.

Cressy

This looks lovely and thinking about getting it for my nearly 9 year old daughter. Was it written for children as I read that it mentions a death?

No - it is not a children's book, but in the course of the tale the young girl goes on parishioner visiting rounds with her vicar father in the snow and there is both a birth and a death.

Witzend

I was going to order it so just looked up the Susan Hill one on Amazon - two options, at £44+ and £58+!!
Gulp….

I clicked on the Paperback option and it came up with a copy for £3.75 inc delivery.

Waterstones have a hard copy to order on line for 15.00

This looks lovely and thinking about getting it for my nearly 9 year old daughter. Was it written for children as I read that it mentions a death?

I was going to order it so just looked up the Susan Hill one on Amazon - two options, at £44+ and £58+!!
Gulp….

Thank you for more recommendations. And I hope those of you who get hold of the Susan Hill will love it as much as I do.

I read a passage from it at a Christmas concert and it people loved it.

Thank you for that, Luckygirl. I hadn’t heard of it but I like Susan Hill, (except for That Book 👀👀). I’ve bought a copy so I can read it to my grandchildren - cough cough. 😁

PS I have never heard of the Susan Hill book, but will search for it.

I always read the winter chapters of The Country Child by Alison Uttley. In my hard back copy the illustations are by Tunnicliffe who illustrated some of the lovely early Ladybird books.

Thanks, I’ll look for that! Sounds lovely!
A lovely one I bought for the Gdcs last year is Cat In The Manger, beautiful full page illustrations, Nativity from the POV of the cat who’s tipped out of the manger!
V appropriate for Gdcs, whose puss Tiggy (also ginger) likes sleeping in their Nativity stable, squashing a lot of the knitted figures!

Thankyou Luckygirl13, I just love her writing and don't know why I've never come across this! Popped over to Ebay & ordered my copy. Already have cosy blanket on sofa and a box of Lindor awaiting. My recommendation is The Christmas Angel by Marcia Willett, another heart warming escape for a few hours.

Thanks for this - will look it up!

Nothing scary at all. It is about a Victorian 9 year old girl being brought up in a vicarage and it tells of the 3 days at Christmas one snowy winter. Not at all the usual Hill fare! It is very poetic and moving.

Thank you for the recommendation. I like Susan Hill but associate her with her scary novel!