Treasure on Earth: A Country House Christmas

by Phyllis Elinor Sandeman

This is an account of Christmas in an Edwardian country house. Phyllis Sandeman, who was brought up at Lyme Park in Cheshire, recalls the celebrations, the theatricals, the relationships between family and servants and her own childhood hopes and fears.

Genres: Christmas, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Biography, British Literature, Classics

114 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[Simon Ackroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sourced this for my wife after a trip to Lyme Park (Pemberley in the 1995 'Pride and Prejudice TV series). Parts of this book are charming and Phyllis is an extremely likeable character. I shared her excitement about the build-up to her Christmas Day.

For such a short book, there were unfortunately too many characters to introduce. On several occasions, I couldn't remember or work out the family relationships and there were too many servants (and roles) to cover. However, the events that they were allowed to attend are well described. I read the epilogue, set nearly 40 years after the main story, and it did move me.

[Nancy Schwab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy read. Full of nostalgia for the past and feelings of pride and love for one’s home in childhood. I related to the author’s love of place and of the feeling provoked by the setting of a room. She truly loved her ancestral home and all the stories she relates in this book go toward an understanding of the way life was in those times.

[Felicity Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked it this up at the gift shop at Lyme Park. It's a memoir of Christmas in the house in 1906, and the just over 100 pages bring the Christmas season - and life at Lyme Park - come alive. The author writes succinctly and emotionally, flowing from what's happening on Christmas Eve with holiday traditions past and other vignettes about the house and the people who live there.

[Judith]

I'm ashamed to say, this is the first time I've actually started reading my grandmother's little book!
I was far too upset over the way she died and remain convinced her death was far too quick. Ousted from her idyllic riverside mill house; to find her sharing a room with two others; was upsetting in the extreme.
At the time I was too ill to do anything.
In fact Gail Reebuck rang me in 1995 just as Colin Firth's version of Pride and Prejudice was about to be released. She wanted me to agree to them reprinting Treasure on Earth through their imprint Pimlico.
I refused because I wanted to redo the book using some of my grandmother's beautiful watercolours; having gone to Paris to study are in 1914. I no longer feel the original pen and ink illustrations do the book justice. I have a letter from Professor Clyde Kilby of Wheaton College Illinois confirming he read C.S. Lewis's critique of the book; saying he felt it was as high as any praise the author had ever given. Lewis and my grandmother having lost their partners; were writing to each other. A creative writing tutor called the family story; involving lies, coercion, drug addiction & disinheritance "A modern Greek tragedy!" I simply do not believe my grandmother died a natural death.

[Mae Leveson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stepping into the world of Edwardian Christmas as seen through the eyes of Phyllis Sandeman, the book opens with a description of her walking in the woods, dressed in black stockings, button-boots of her generation and obviously home-made clothes. It is Christmas Eve and the excitement is building as Phyllis awaits the arrival of house guests, including her cousins.

This book offers a glimpse into a world long past, though the sentiments of celebration and family continue across the century.

Although the house name given in the book is fictitious, it is actually Lyme Park in Cheshire, so it is possible to retrace Phyllis’s steps and imagine the rooms filled with a large house party at Christmas.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phyllis Elinor Sandeman was brought up in Lyme Park in Cheshire (in this book it's referred to as Vyne), possibly best known these days as the National Trust house that was Pemberley in the 1985 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. In this book, she recalls a childhood Christmas at Lyme in 1906 and the anticipation of all the exciting events that will take place over the festive season. She added an epilogue in 1946 which was rather sad. Parts of it were a little dry, but I loved some of the social history.

[DocNora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbearably nostalgic and sad at the end. Houses speak to me and I always feel country houses are special because they have seen and heard so much and look as if they must miss the life they once knew.. Although I am a member of the national trust and visit these houses, I hate to think of the families forced to give up their homes often on rapacious terms. A house without it's family is but a sad empty shell. Invaluable as a memoir of an edwardian Christmas in one of our beloved country houses.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely book about a vanished time. Not massively well written, but delightful nonetheless. I live nearby, so it's descriptions of familiar places (albeit much changed in the intervening century) may have caused a little bias on my part.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little book allows a glimpse into life at a country estate in the Edwardian era during the festive period. Some parts were magical, very christmassy. Other parts were droll. But for the most part I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

[Melissa Brown]

I enjoyed these reminisces of a woman who grew up at what is now Lyme Park from over a hundred years ago and imagining what that would’ve been like!

[Kiyoaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro "A Country House Christmas: A Magical Memoir of an Edwardian Christmas" es un libro de la autora Phyllis Elinor Sandeman, que comparte sus recuerdos de infancia de una Navidad en Lyme Hall, la mansión familiar, a principios del siglo XX. A través de su prosa delicada y detallada, la autora nos lleva a un viaje en el tiempo para descubrir cómo se celebraba la Navidad en aquel entonces, con todas las tradiciones y costumbres propias de la época.

Lo que más destaca del libro es la entrañable figura de Phyllis, quien comparte sus recuerdos con gran amor y nostalgia. La autora nos hace sentir como si estuviéramos allí con ella, disfrutando de la deliciosa comida, las decoraciones festivas y la alegría de la época navieña. Además, el libro cuenta con ilustraciones hechas también por la misma Phyllis que ayudan a crear una atmósfera mágica y evocadora.

La historia también es una reflexión sobre la importancia de la familia y la comunidad. Phyllis describe cómo los miembros de la familia y los amigos se reunían para celebrar juntos las fiestas navideñas, y cómo estas reuniones ayudaban a fortalecer los lazos de la familia y la comunidad.

Aunque el mundo cambió radicalmente poco después con la Primera y Segunda Guerra Mundial, Phyllis conserva en la memoria aquellos tiempos y aquella manera de vivir, reconociendo ya de mayor, que aquella época fue un auténtico tesoro en la tierra.

En resumen, "A Country House Christmas" es un libro encantador y nostálgico que transporta al lector a otra época. Si te gusta la historia, la Navidad y las historias con un toque personal, este libro te encantará. Definitivamente recomiendo este libro a aquellos que buscan una lectura reconfortante y acogedora. Es una lectura perfecta para aquellos que disfrutan de una buena historia contada con cariño.

[Marie S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't go into the book with the right expectations, and the book is so short I hadn't time to move on from the disappointement. It's not really centered around Christmas, Phyllis imagines all the nice things that will happen during the Christmas time, and mostly how the house will look and how it affects her.
It's a love letter to her lost house and to her childhood, but it's in no way a christmas story.
And the epilogue almost made me cry, I never lost a house but I still was heartbroken for her.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small treasure, but I found the Epilogue very sad.