Our December Book of the Month

The British Library Women Writers series is a curated collection of novels by female authors who enjoyed broad, popular appeal in their day. In a century during which the role of women in society changed radically, their fictional heroines highlight women’s experience of life inside and outside the home through the decades in these rich, insightful and evocative stories.

In the night the snow came.
She awoke on Christmas morning in that unmistakable light, coming up from the earth and shining between her curtains.

Celebrate Christmas through the creative minds of a host of authors, including Beryl Bainbridge, Maeve Binchy, Richmal Crompton, Alice Munro and Elizabeth von Arnim. From the delightful consequences of decorating the tree by Stella Gibbons to a disorientating encounter at 35,000 feet on a Christmas Day flight by Muriel Spark, an amateur pantomime by Stella Margetson and a New Year’s resolution by Alice Childress, these stories are sure to fortify you over the Christmas period.

Stories for Christmas and the Festive Season explores the joy and exhaustion, preparations and surprises of this time of year from a female perspective. In keeping with the spirit of the Women Writers series, the stories are penned by authors whose writing originally appeared in books and magazines in the twentieth century. The selection includes the festive run-up as well as post-Christmas traditions and winter holidays.

Publication date: 27/10/22

Author: Muriel Spark, E. M. Delafield, Stella Gibbons

Brand: British Library Publishing

Number of pages: 224

Binding: Paperback

Dimensions: 190 x 130 mm