A Scandal at Christmas

by Catherine Cookson

Harry Blenheim wasn't what you might call a good-looking fellow, but his face was full of character, with the kindest eyes God ever made. That's what his wife Esther had said, back in the days when they'd loved and laughed together. Now, it was five years since they had even kissed goodnight. Still, everyone in Fellburn respected Harry, even if there was no love lost between him and his hard-headed father-in-law.

No one was more surprised than Harry that he should let himself become involved in a fling with an office girl. He knew it was a warning sign, that the cracks were beginning to show, but worse was to come. Nice bloke that he was, nothing could have prepared Harry Blenheim for the scandal that shook his life with all the force of an earthquake.

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2024

About the author

Catherine Cookson was born in Tyne Dock, the illegitimate daughter of a poverty-stricken woman, Kate, who Catherine believed was her older sister. Catherine began work in service but eventually moved south to Hastings, where she met and married Tom Cookson, a local grammar-school master.

Although she was originally acclaimed as a regional writer - her novel The Round Tower won the Winifred Holtby Award for the best regional novel of 1968 - her readership quickly spread throughout the world, and her many best-selling novels established her as one of the most popular contemporary woman novelist. She received an OBE in 1985, was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1993, and was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford, in 1997.

For many years she lived near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how good this author is. Great having three books in one that pull together in the last part of the story. Personal failings through the intervention of others, a gripping tale to the end.

[Nicola (Nikki) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was an OK read enjoyed it more near the end

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is a well written smart story providing an absorbing, often dark narrative that made a stressful read. Cookson always includes darker elements in her stories, but it was on-going here. I was thinking 4 stars until the very end which seemed somewhat out of sync. All the threads were not satisfactorily resolved and things were dropped too abruptly for me. The anti-Semitism aspect would have seemed over the top except for the recent open public displays of denigrating Jews that has again become a sad reality. This book was re-titled a couple times since first published in 1969, (The Nice Guy; The Husband). The story has little to do with Christmas other than it is when the traumatic event occurred, so is not the cozy seasonal book I was expecting.