A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Ebenezer Scrooge only loves one thing, and that’s money. He hates anything that brings cheer and happiness to others, so he naturally despises the whole Christmas season. One Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley has been dead for years and was just as selfish as Scrooge. His spirit is now forced to wander the earth in chains, and has come to warn Scrooge that the same fate awaits him if he continues living the way he has been. Three spirits are going to visit Scrooge: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come. As Scrooge is given the chance to wander through his past and future, he comes to see himself in the same way that others see him.

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re going to read one holiday related book this Christmas, then make it A Christmas Carol. I’m quite certain that everyone is familiar with this story.  I love the style of narration, the plot, the overall message and how the story presents the festivity of Christmas. This novella is an allegory about poverty in Victorian London, with the infamous Scrooge representing the greed of the rich. A Christmas Carol is very short and could be a good introduction to Charles Dickens. It captures a lot of the great things about his writing, while being short and easy to understand. As a Christmas story, this is as good as it gets. There are so many retellings for a reason: A Christmas Carol is a timeless story that captures the spirit of the holidays.  No matter how many movie adaptations you’ve seen, the book has a special magic that will make you feel like you’re learning of Scrooge’s redemption for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read this book every Christmas Eve with a nice warm drink. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne Du Maurier

 

 

This story begins with a very discontented wife fleeing her useless dissipated idle life in London's high society. She packs her children and her children' s nurse into her coach and off they rush to a small country estate in Cornwall. She is disgusted with her former life, she is bored by her dim witted but doting husband. She finds herself gradually relaxing and is intrigued by her rather singular servant.

 

She is paid a visit by the local bigwig Lord Godolphin who tells her that they have been plagued in previous months by a very daring French pirate whom none can seem to catch. Donna gets rid of Lord Godolphin and tells William, her servant to say to any other visitors that she is ill, mad, or out. She really doesn't to want to see anyone. On a walk through the grounds one day she explores the woods nearby and finds a creek so well hidden from view that no one has even suspected it was there. As the creek widens she follows the bank and around the bend she comes across a ship moored. She is captured and is taken on board where she meets the Frenchman. It is the beginning of her romance and adventure.

 

I read this book in July 2013 whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall. I loved every minute of the novel and I kept wistfully looking out to sea imaging the white sails of La Mouette coming towards me and Jean-Benoit Aubéry, the charming and romantic pirate, falling in love with me and whisking me away to France with him. Sigh...

 

 



 

 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I'll never forget the first time I read Jane Eyre, I was 11 years old and I think it was in Autumn 2000. We were going away and I got very bored in the car, (still do!) without a book so my mum gave me the paperback copy of Jane Eyre she owned at the time and placed it on my lap. From the first page I loved it! I remember not being keen on Rochester because of the way he deceives Jane but as I got older I understood Rochester more and more and fell head over heels in love with him. In September 2000 I started high school and I was bullied which made me very unhappy so Jane became my best friend and as I thought myself plain I could easily understand what Jane meant when she wishes she was pretty.

Jane Eyre has also distracted me from my disability and has made me believe that a man will love me for who I am, despite my disability like Jane loves Rochester even though he is blind. It also taught me to resist temptation and I was amazed at how strong Jane was in leaving Rochester even though she loved him so much, I remember thinking how hard that must have been.

One of the reasons I love Jane Eyre so much is because Jane stands up for herself and overcomes ever obstacle that people put in her path; I also love her morals too and I also like the fact that she is plain but is such a strong heroine. I love the language in this novel and think it is beautifully written.

Another reason why I love it is because there is a brooding, dark, blunt, rude but a very passionate and gorgeous hero in the novel (what woman doesn't like one of those?!) which is Mr. Rochester who loves Jane for who she is, is very kind to her and treats her like an equal, I know that he has his faults but I can't help but fall for him! I also find him a very sympathetic character because he has a lot of very unfair things to deal with in his life.


My favourite parts of the novel are:

When Jane and Edward first meet
The first conversation they have sat by the fire
After Jane saves Edward from the fire
The conversation they have when Jane leaves the drawing-room
When Jane finds out Edward is the gypsy
When Jane asks Edward's permission to leave Thornfield Hall
When Jane returns to Thornfield Hall
The proposal! (This part is so passionate and romantic!)
When Edward is explaining everything to Jane after their interrupted marriage and is trying to convince her to stay with him (I nearly cry when I read that part!)
The reunion of Jane and Edward

Every time I read Jane Eyre nowadays I still feel like Jane is my friend telling me everything about herself, I love to read it in bed where I can get cosy and fall in love with the novel and Mr. Rochester all over again! I also have Jane Eyre on audio disc as well it's lovely to listen to when I am unwell or the weather is bad. My mum often passes me one of my copies when I'm upset or ill. I often forget my worries when I read it. When I can't sleep I read it, I once read parts of it at 5:00am! I read it many times a year. Edward Fairfax Rochester is my favourite hero in English Literature.

Jane Eyre is my favourite novel. I will love it forever and it will always be a very special novel to me. I recommend everyone read Jane Eyre with a cup of tea, a slice of cake or a bar of chocolate. 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Mistress Mary is quite contrary until she helps her garden grow. Along the way, she manages to cure her sickly cousin Colin, who is every bit as imperious as she. These two are sullen little peas in a pod, closed up in a gloomy old manor on the Yorkshire moors of England, until a locked-up garden captures their imaginations and puts the blush of a wild rose in their cheeks; "It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high walls which shut it in were covered with the leafless stems of roses which were so thick, that they matted together.... 'No wonder it is still,' Mary whispered. 'I am the first person who has spoken here for ten years.'" As new life sprouts from the earth, Mary and Colin's sour natures begin to sweeten. For anyone who has ever felt afraid to live and love, The Secret Garden's portrayal of reawakening spirits will thrill and rejuvenate. Frances Hodgson Burnett creates characters so strong and distinct, young readers continue to identify with them even 102 years after they were conceived.

I first read this children's classic when I was 12 and I immediately fell in love with the magical garden. I love how the robin becomes Mary's friend and shows her the way to the door. This book is one of my favourite childhood stories. I have lots of fond and special memories of my childhood when I read it.

The Joy of Books

As you know I love to read and I love a series of books called The Collector's Library. Here is the website www.collectors-library.com I thought you might like it. They have classic literature in lovely hardback editions with gold edged pages and ribbon bookmarks. So far, in this edition I own: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Jane Eyre, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, A Little Princess and Little Women.

My favourite place to read a book is in bed because I can get all warm and cosy. I often read late into the night because I am enjoying my book too much which is not always a good idea as I am tired the next day!  I also love to read when I am upset or need a bit of comfort so when I when I feel like this, I happily go into a drawing room, meet Mr. Rochester upon Hay Lane or go to Hogwarts and learn a few spells. I am a fan of classic children's literature especially The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Ballet Shoes, Charlotte's Web, Harry Potter, Little Women and The Railway Children.

200th Anniversary of Pride and Prejudice

 

 

Not for nothing is Pride and Prejudice often cited as Britain’s favourite novel, or the one that I do without. In writing this book Jane Austen created two characters who have delighted audiences since its publication 200 years ago. Until Lawrence Olivier, and more recently Colin Firth, set female hearts swooning as Mr Darcy, the focus was on the novel’s heroine, Elizabeth Bennet.

Although these handsome and charismatic actors have caused a distraction it is perhaps Elizabeth who is the finer and more original creation. Sweet but forthright, pretty but not beautiful, brave but not bold, intelligent but not boring, she is, for many women, the perfect role model.

Was Elizabeth a self portrait? This seems to be highly unlikely, but she is most probably the woman Jane Austen wanted to be. As she says: “I do think her the most delightful creature ever to appear in print”, and who can argue with her?

By the time the novel was published Jane Austen was no longer the giddy girl who first created this delightful creature. Described by one observer as a “husband hunting butterfly” while still in her teens, she had become the mature, worldly-wise spinster by her early thirties. By then she had seen boyfriends come and go, brothers marry and be widowed, had been uprooted several times and witnessed her country at war. She probably no longer believed in happy ever after in quite the same way as she had when she planned the book, but still wanted to share the delightful optimism and spirit of her heroine.

Written initially as First Impression while living at Steventon at her father’s rectory, it became Pride and Prejudice sometime after, and received its final revision at Chawton Cottage, now known as Jane Austen’s House Museum. This is the home from which this most famous novel was published and from where she wrote to her sister Cassandra the now immortal line: “I want to tell you that I have got my own darling child from London” on receiving her first copy of the book.

In this bicentenary year I invite everyone to share in the excitement. Read the book, watch the adaptations, visit the place where it all began.

Pride and Prejudice is my second favourite novel.  I love how Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have all these misunderstandings and then finally get married and live happily ever after! xx