Under the Mistletoe (Signet Eclipse)

I think that Mary Balogh is probably the best author currently writing Regency Romances. In a hugely overcrowded genre her books stand out because of their characterisation, insights into human nature, depictions of scarred and damaged people finding healing and, important to me, the good attention to historicity.

Under the Mistletoe is an excellent example of Balogh's work in short-story form. Although an author who can write truly sublime stories sometimes she gets it wrong and produces something rather underwhelming (I can think of three of the 'Slightly' series and 'No Man's Mistress' as examples of these). And this collection has four excellent stories and one so-so, thus a good example of how she can write!

This book is a collection of stories that were published separately previously in anthologies and it's a great opportunity to read them all together although it does also highlight some of the similarities in the stories; they're probably best read one at a time with a couple of days in between to truly appreciate them.

"A Family Christmas" deals with the estrangement between the newlyweds Mr Chambers and Mrs Chambers. She was given in marriage to him, the son of a Cit, by her titled parents in order to restore their fortunes. Mr Chambers has been living in London for all but the first two weeks of their marriage and Elizabeth is living in his country estate with her 3 month old son and, very unfortunately for her, her domineering and overbearing mother. Elizabeth's mother looks down on Mr Chambers as his fortune comes from trade and Elizabeth fears that he despises her for marrying for money and yet as the Christmas season progresses they both find that they may have been mistaken in each other.

"The Star of Bethlehem" deals with another failed marriage where Estelle and her husband the Earl of Lisle have been miscommunicating for their entire marriage, two years. The Star is the engagement ring that Allan, the Earl, gave to Estelle and yet when she loses the ring she fears she has lost all chance of ever being reconciled to Allan. It takes a thieving chimney sweep and the Christmas season to allow them to see each other truly for the first time.

"The Best Gift" is the story of Jane Craggs, illegitimate schoolteacher who has never experienced Christmas in her 23 years. Expecting to spend the Christmas season at the school where she teaches she finds herself called on to be companion for one of her pupils, Deborah, whose parents are away and who thus will have to spend Christmas with her uncle, Viscount Buckley. The Viscount is appalled that he has to deal with Deborah and more so when he arrives home with Deborah and Miss Craggs in tow to find his illegitimate four-year-old daughter at his house - her mother has died and she has been sent to him. Yet somehow the four mis-matched people come together to create a proper Christmas and Jane is determined that the Viscount keep his daughter with him and not send her away so that young Veronica doesn't have a life like Jane did, devoid of love. But Jane gets rather more than she bargains for.

"Playing House" is a story of childhood love that was separated by circumstances. When Stephen's older brother died unexpectedly he became heir to the Marquess of Bedford and found himself courted and feted, marrying a woman who turned out to be heartless and with no fidelity. When his wife dies Stephen eventually has to take care of his daughter, Dora, and returns to his country home for the first time in six years to try and give her a genuine Christmas. However he almost instantly finds his childhood sweetheart Lilias on his doorstep asking for help and thinks she is out to catch herself a Marquess. Stephen's suspicion and Lilias' dismay that her warm and friendly companion has become a cold and remote man make it very uncomfortable for them when thrown together and yet Dora and Lilias' younger siblings help to bring them together as they begin to understand what each means to the other.

The fifth story, "No Room at the Inn" is the disappointment. We see a group of eight people snowed in at an Inn and an ill-assorted group they are. When a young unmarried woman needs somewhere to give birth she and her man are given the stable to sleep in as they aren't 'quality' but as the baby starts to be born the people in the Inn see things rather differently. There's a rather unlikely new romance in the story, a married couple re-engaging with each other and a mysterious character bringing the people to a new understanding of themselves. The device of the baby almost being born in a stable felt too clumsy to me and the story overall just didn't work.

With the exception of the last story these are all very charming tales that I will want to read again. Perhaps they are rather over-sentimental about Christmas in a rather cheesily American manner, perhaps there is rather too much repetition of events (partly because the stories weren't originally collected together) but it's still a great read and a great introduction to Mary Balogh if you are new to her.

Wonderful collection of Christmas stories (6/6 people found this helpful)

Great to find a collection of five of Mary Ballogh's short stories together in one volume. Each story is a little gem in itself, one of them is new and the others have been previously published in other Xmas anthologies. In my opinion no-one does heartwarming Christmas better than Ms Balogh. Curl up in a comfy armchair and enjoy.

Under the Mistletoe (Signet Eclipse)

Mary Balogh

Reader Reviews:

Four excellent and one so-so Christmas-themed short stories (2/2 people found this helpful)

Wonderful collection of Christmas stories (6/6 people found this helpful)

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