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The Sailor: A Yuletide Story
A heartwarming tale of first love and divine grace, with echoes of H.C. Andersen and Dickens’ Christmas Carol, The Sailor is the perfect story for Christmas. Served up with lashings of Danish 'hygge'.
Copenhagen 1840
Young Constantin Torstrup lives in the grandest house on the King’s New Square in the fine old Danish capital.
But Connie’s life is lonely. His mother has passed and his father is remote, with time only for his business ledgers. To escape this colourless existence, Connie disguises himself in pauper's rags, freeing him to experience all the bustle and brightness the city has to offer.
When he falls head over heels for Ida, the beautiful daughter of a local dressmaker, Connie is confronted with a dilemma. Should he reveal to her who he truly is? Or would he then be forever haunted that Ida chose him not for himself but for his father's fortune?
The course of young love rarely runs straight and smooth. As their romance founders on the shoals of misunderstanding, rival suitors, and unspoken feelings, will the mysterious appearance of an unexpected guide be enough to steer the young lovers back into each other's arms?
Copenhagen 1840
Young Constantin Torstrup lives in the grandest house on the King’s New Square in the fine old Danish capital.
But Connie’s life is lonely. His mother has passed and his father is remote, with time only for his business ledgers. To escape this colourless existence, Connie disguises himself in pauper's rags, freeing him to experience all the bustle and brightness the city has to offer.
When he falls head over heels for Ida, the beautiful daughter of a local dressmaker, Connie is confronted with a dilemma. Should he reveal to her who he truly is? Or would he then be forever haunted that Ida chose him not for himself but for his father's fortune?
The course of young love rarely runs straight and smooth. As their romance founders on the shoals of misunderstanding, rival suitors, and unspoken feelings, will the mysterious appearance of an unexpected guide be enough to steer the young lovers back into each other's arms?
80 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 29, 2023
3 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2023
Started reading and couldn’t put it down! With playful descriptions and a cheeky nod to the reader now and then, Brun made it feel like I was right there with Connie, falling in love for the first time. A perfect read for a cosy evening in or an otherwise dull commute to work.
December 4, 2023
Historical fiction has been as infected by the grimming of modern tastes as has Hollywood. Where before, in movies, brightly clad heroes strode across a Technicolor landscape, now grey and mud-spattered protagonists creep through kingdoms leached of colour, where people dressed in all colours so long as they were variations of grey and mud. The bizarre fact is, though, that the older Hollywood films and the first historical novels were more accurate: the past was brightly, vividly coloured, and the people who lived in that past lived lives that were as bright and vivid as their houses, churches and clothing.
So it was a great and unexpected joy to read this novella. It’s set in the 19th century in Copenhagen and it is the most joyous and the most wholesome, in the strict sense of the word, story that I have read in years. It’s such a relief to read a book completely untouched by the confected cynicism of this tired and weary age, where everything is permitted and nothing is done. It’s a story of love, human and divine, the love that moves the sun and other stars, the love that brings life and purpose. It’s a story of first love, of boy for girl, and first love, of God for man, for in each that love is always unique and fresh – and not something I expected to see written about in a contemporary novel. So thank you, Theodore Brun, for having the courage to write with such direct and heartfelt simplicity of thought and emotion; so much harder to do than the usual weary tropes of modern writing. Thank you.
So it was a great and unexpected joy to read this novella. It’s set in the 19th century in Copenhagen and it is the most joyous and the most wholesome, in the strict sense of the word, story that I have read in years. It’s such a relief to read a book completely untouched by the confected cynicism of this tired and weary age, where everything is permitted and nothing is done. It’s a story of love, human and divine, the love that moves the sun and other stars, the love that brings life and purpose. It’s a story of first love, of boy for girl, and first love, of God for man, for in each that love is always unique and fresh – and not something I expected to see written about in a contemporary novel. So thank you, Theodore Brun, for having the courage to write with such direct and heartfelt simplicity of thought and emotion; so much harder to do than the usual weary tropes of modern writing. Thank you.
December 13, 2025
So beautifully written..!
From the start I was mesmerised by the rich beauty of this book. It reads like a Victorian painting, depicting a social setting in Copenhagen. It’s wonderful and I warmly recommend this novella.
From the start I was mesmerised by the rich beauty of this book. It reads like a Victorian painting, depicting a social setting in Copenhagen. It’s wonderful and I warmly recommend this novella.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews