There’s nothing like a good grown up Christmas book to see you through the long, dark winter nights. Whether romance, murder mystery or satire’s your thing, there’s a modern classic waiting to inject some magic into your Christmas.
We’ve rounded up our favourite five fireside reads.
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, by Agatha Christie
A compilation of five short stories, each centred around a crime most dreadful. First comes a sinister warning to Hercule Poirot not to eat any plum pudding, then there’s the discovery of a corpse in a chest, an overhead quarrel that leads to murder, a dead man who altered his eating habits and a victim who dreams of her own suicide. Just the ticket for dark, winter nights.
Light on Snow, by Anita Shreve
A steaming cup of hot chocolate is an essential accompaniment to this chilling best seller. A twelve-year-old girl and her widowed father thought they were safe from more tragedy after moving to a remote house on the outskirts of a snowy New Hampshire village…until out walking one day they discover a package in the snow containing a barely breathing baby. Cue lots of soul searching.
A Christmas Visitor, Anne Perry
A tale of a fractious family and the hell that ensues as they come together in an attempt to spend a harmonious Christmas in the old manor house they grew up in. Slander and death would seem to be the inevitable outcomes in this novel, only just published in paperback.
The Christmas Mystery, by Jostein Gaarder
A young girl steps out of a department store and back in time to the birth of Christ, befriending as she does a motley crew of shepherds, wise men and angels. You’ll have to dispense with belief to enjoy this philosophical novel from the author of Sophie’s World, which is enjoyed by children, teenagers and adults alike.
The Santaland Diaries, by David Sedaris
Christmas cynics will get a kick out of this compilation of six short stories about the more commercial side of the festive season. It’s laugh-out-loud funny, at times acidic and is an absolute must for humbugs everywhere. Also published under the name Holidays On ice.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The classic tale of the true meaning of Christmas.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Opens with four women lying around and grumbling about their Christmas presents.
Christmas Poems by UA Fanthorpe
Modern poetry about Christmas past.
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore
(illustrated by Christian Birmingham)
The best Christmas poem of all time.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
All-time classic, responsible for causing grown men to sing in a high-pitched voice.
