A Vintage Christmas: Vintage Minis

by Various

The most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner. Immerse yourself in a literary wonderland with this collection of timeless Christmas tales - the perfect festive gift for any reader.

'There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas’ said Charles Dickens. From yuletide carols to scrumptious food to presents under the tree, from cold winter nights in Victorian London to countryside festivities by the fire, from the melancholies of the season to the injustices, our best writers have seen it all and written it down. A Vintage Christmas captures the very essence of what Christmas means to us and what real magic can be found, written by some of the world’s finest authors, including Charles Dickens, Arthur Conan Doyle, Anthony Trollope, Laurie Lee, E. Nesbit and Alice Munro.

Stories in A Vintage Christmas:
‘Carol-Barking’ from Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee
‘Obadiah Oak, Mrs Griffiths and the Carol Singers’ by Louis de Bernières
‘The Turkey Season’ by Alice Munro
‘Christmas at Thompson Hall’ by Anthony Trollope
‘Christmas Shopping’ from The Green Road by Anne Enright
‘A Conscience Pudding’ from The New Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit
‘Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm’ by Stella Gibbons
‘There Never Was Such a Goose’ from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
‘Let Nothing You Dismay’ by Helen Simpson
‘Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor’ by John Cheever
‘A Serious Talk’ by Raymond Carver
‘The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle’ by Arthur Conan Doyle

VINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.

Vintage Minis bring you the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us human – from birth to death and everything in between.

Genres: Christmas, Short Stories, Holiday, Classics

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2018

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a lovely cover and I think I liked the idea of it. However, despite the lovely excerpt from Laurie Lee, it didn’t grab me. It’s a bit piecemeal for me. I’m sure others will love dipping into festive passages but I prefer a story in its entirety. I’ve come away feeling I haven’t quite read a book.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any collection of stories, there will always be certain tales that appeal more than others. Some excerpts were truly enchanting - such as Laurie Lee’s, with its depiction of a winter night sky (his writing is like painting with words) - but sadly, others were somewhat cold and laborious to read. At points, I even considers abandoning the book, but the promise of eventually reaching Dickens and Conan Doyle kept me going.

All in all, I’m glad I stuck with it, but it isn’t necessarily a book I would recommend to someone seeking a solely heartwarming and festive read!

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

*thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

2 stars.

Unfortunately this was of no real interest to me. The stories bored me and it was a struggle to get through. Being apart of the vintage classics range I did expect more. The reason that I am giving this 2 stars and not 1 is because I do like the cover and I do like some of the authors who were chosen to have their stories included in here. Also, another reason is because my rating of this is not based on it being poorly written or anything like that, it was simply just not for me and I can see how it would appeal to others. For me I will add that it didn't feel Christmassy enough. It didnt have that magic though the only story for me that did get close to that was "'A Conscience Pudding’ from The New Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit". Hopefully people will enjoy this more than I did.

[Meikoningin · Rating 1 out of 5]

A vintage Christmas by various authors
This is a collection of Christmas tales. 'There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas’ said Charles Dickens. From yuletide carols to scrumptious food to presents under the tree, from cold winter nights in Victorian London to countryside festivities by the fire, from the melancholies of the season to the injustices, our best writers have seen it all and written it down. The stories capture the very essence of what Christmas means and what real magic can be found, written by some of the world’s finest authors like Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. A thoughtful mix of stories all with a seasonal twist. As with any collection of stories there will always be certain tales that appeal more than others. Some were enchanting but others were somewhat less interesting to read. This is a book I would recommend to anyone seeking a seasonal read. 2,5 out of 5,0 for this one.

[Natalumizz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fail to see why some shitty story by Raymond Carver about an abusive man trying to obsessively retain control over his ex-wife's life has been included in an otherwise pretty wholesome Christmas stories collection...

[Santino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks netgalley for an ARC ebook. Enjoyed this festive book, some parts more than others.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A witty and thoughtful mix of stories all with a festive twist. The Trollope and Stella Gibbons extracts were a joy to read, I couldn’t stop laughing.

[Claire O'Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection - particularly Laurie Lee’s contribution. This will be added to my Christmas re-reading pile for future years.

[Mouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice collection of stories all set around the Christmas season from well known authors. It actually made me want to read more from some of them. Always a nice bonus :)

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Laurie Lee & Charles Dickens taking top marks. Merry Christmas!

[Stefani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only really cared for a couple of these stories.

[Inger-Johanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best things about this book was its cute design and handy format to carry around. But the stories were mostly not particularly interesting, and the print was quite small.

[Sophia Aouichaoui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this compilation of festive short stories.