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A Quality Street Christmas
The Quality Street girls are gearing up for Christmas, but with the factory now making gas masks, as well as the nation’s favourite chocolate sweets, it’s anything but normal. They’re having to make other adjustments too. Reenie is in the doldrums after being demoted at work, while Mary has got her hands full getting used to married life and a ready-made family. New girl, Ada, isn’t sure she fits into factory life at all. Then, just as the Christmas party season gets into full swing, Toffee town gets a shock, and soon it isn’t just Christmas cheer that’s in short supply. Can the Quality Street girls save Christmas once again?
352 pages, Hardcover
Published November 24, 2022
27 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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December 31, 2025review to follow xxx
February 19, 2024
Nice easy read
December 22, 2024
Took a while to get into the book, wasn’t properly interested until halfway really.
April 28, 2025
Although the characters in Penny Thorpe’s Quality Street novels have been compelling and fun, the historical settings have meant that the books haven’t all been, if you’ll pardon the pun, sweet. With everything else going on, they have certainly earned a bit of happiness and so, after the first novel in the series was set with Christmas approaching, the series has come full circle for “A Quality Street Christmas”. The whole series has advanced a couple of years since that opening, but an awful lot has been packed into that time and any readers will know that a quiet and uneventful Christmas is not likely.
That’s certainly true for Mary, who is struggling to adapt to her new life as a wife and a stepmother and whilst she adores Albert, his children have been through a lot of upheaval and Greta, in particular, is refusing to settle and to even sp3eak any English. Unlike most married women, Mary is at least able to keeping working at the factory, although only on a temporary assignment as one of the lines has been converted to making gas masks because war is coming ever closer. Reenie, having chosen her job over love, has been demoted and moved to a new department where she thinks they all hate her and Diana is concerned that her secret daughter’s adopted parents are going to send her overseas where she will be safe, but unreachable, and she has other shocks yet to come.
Meanwhile, whilst war may be approaching, so is Christmas, which means that the factory needs to be making sweet treats for the holidays. This means they need to employ new Quality Street Girls, and Ada and Caroline are amongst the new recruits, to the former’s horror and the latter’s excitement. They have got the jobs thanks to Ada’s cousin working at the factory, but Ada would much prefer a quite office job with plenty of quiet and solitude, whereas her best friend Caroline is looking forward to all the socialising and the famous factory dances that happen to take everyone’s minds off life outside the factory walls which, after one of the dances, seems to be a man going around attacking young, unaccompanied women, who claims Ada as his first victim.
Whereas the previous book in the series took things a little less seriously in many ways, this is a novel that reflects the growing maturity of the main characters. Although the inclusion of Ada and Caroline reflects the girls they were, our original Quality Street Girls are women now, with marriage, motherhood, secrets and careers. Even Bess, who was the flightiest of them all, has settled into a life with her sister and her new husband and a role of looking after the children, which was an untapped talent she only discovered during her time at the factory. With war approaching and a dangerous man on the streets of Halifax, plus Reenie’s natural enthusiasm for her work being restrained, even the dances aren’t enough to make this a happy time for the Quality Street Girls, even before news of the recently paroled Tommo and the newly re-engaged Peter reach them.
Alongside the change in tone, there’s a slight change in writing style, with Thorpe writing in shorter chapters than usual and focussing a little more on story than on character. There is some of the latter, certainly enough to recognise the dysfunctional friendship between Ada and Caroline and to determine that Caroline and Dolly Dunkley would make a perfect pairing, but even here there is much more emotional depth to all their relationships. With the plot involving more criminal and action elements than relational ones, the story jumps between plots more than usual and the pace is much higher and the shorter chapters are a writing tool James Patterson has used to great effect over many years and it’s just as effective here in keeping the pace high and this was the quickest reading of all the novels in the series for that reason.
It seems that this may be the ending of the series and it feels appropriate that it should end this way, as the circling around of the calendar and the timescale brings everything to a proper close. Indeed, the historical background as the war approaches means there is going to be a massive change for the country as a whole and there is already a split in the group as their lives have all headed in different directions. Thorpe has done a wonderful job of ending their stories perfectly and whilst there is some sadness that we won’t get to see what happens next, she has written these novels so well and maintained a perfect story arc over all four of them that you can put them down and draw a line under them, not without regret, but with some satisfaction. I know that these novels have been based around Penny Thorpe’s particular areas of interest and expertise, but I do hope she will write more.
That’s certainly true for Mary, who is struggling to adapt to her new life as a wife and a stepmother and whilst she adores Albert, his children have been through a lot of upheaval and Greta, in particular, is refusing to settle and to even sp3eak any English. Unlike most married women, Mary is at least able to keeping working at the factory, although only on a temporary assignment as one of the lines has been converted to making gas masks because war is coming ever closer. Reenie, having chosen her job over love, has been demoted and moved to a new department where she thinks they all hate her and Diana is concerned that her secret daughter’s adopted parents are going to send her overseas where she will be safe, but unreachable, and she has other shocks yet to come.
Meanwhile, whilst war may be approaching, so is Christmas, which means that the factory needs to be making sweet treats for the holidays. This means they need to employ new Quality Street Girls, and Ada and Caroline are amongst the new recruits, to the former’s horror and the latter’s excitement. They have got the jobs thanks to Ada’s cousin working at the factory, but Ada would much prefer a quite office job with plenty of quiet and solitude, whereas her best friend Caroline is looking forward to all the socialising and the famous factory dances that happen to take everyone’s minds off life outside the factory walls which, after one of the dances, seems to be a man going around attacking young, unaccompanied women, who claims Ada as his first victim.
Whereas the previous book in the series took things a little less seriously in many ways, this is a novel that reflects the growing maturity of the main characters. Although the inclusion of Ada and Caroline reflects the girls they were, our original Quality Street Girls are women now, with marriage, motherhood, secrets and careers. Even Bess, who was the flightiest of them all, has settled into a life with her sister and her new husband and a role of looking after the children, which was an untapped talent she only discovered during her time at the factory. With war approaching and a dangerous man on the streets of Halifax, plus Reenie’s natural enthusiasm for her work being restrained, even the dances aren’t enough to make this a happy time for the Quality Street Girls, even before news of the recently paroled Tommo and the newly re-engaged Peter reach them.
Alongside the change in tone, there’s a slight change in writing style, with Thorpe writing in shorter chapters than usual and focussing a little more on story than on character. There is some of the latter, certainly enough to recognise the dysfunctional friendship between Ada and Caroline and to determine that Caroline and Dolly Dunkley would make a perfect pairing, but even here there is much more emotional depth to all their relationships. With the plot involving more criminal and action elements than relational ones, the story jumps between plots more than usual and the pace is much higher and the shorter chapters are a writing tool James Patterson has used to great effect over many years and it’s just as effective here in keeping the pace high and this was the quickest reading of all the novels in the series for that reason.
It seems that this may be the ending of the series and it feels appropriate that it should end this way, as the circling around of the calendar and the timescale brings everything to a proper close. Indeed, the historical background as the war approaches means there is going to be a massive change for the country as a whole and there is already a split in the group as their lives have all headed in different directions. Thorpe has done a wonderful job of ending their stories perfectly and whilst there is some sadness that we won’t get to see what happens next, she has written these novels so well and maintained a perfect story arc over all four of them that you can put them down and draw a line under them, not without regret, but with some satisfaction. I know that these novels have been based around Penny Thorpe’s particular areas of interest and expertise, but I do hope she will write more.
January 14, 2025
It took me a long time to read this book because I found it a bit boring. The chapters are incredibly short - only 3,4 or 5 pages!! It had some key characters and each chapter focused on one of them for the first part of the book - but they didn’t seem to join up. As the book progressed the chapters combined characters and it improved but I nearly stopped reading many times!! There is a note from the author to explain the history behind the story - and I love history - but I felt no desire to keep picking the book up because the book felt disjointed. As for being a Christmassey book, well I don’t think so! The last chapter is set around Christmas but as the chapters are so short it was only a tiny amount of the book. Disappointing.
December 17, 2024
To get into the festive mood, I wanted to read a christmassy book my friend got me last month! I find stories set in war times quite interesting seeing a different perspective towards society. Reading different characters from a work place they all share but having different story lines gave me a glimpse of their different personalities and life stories. Very similar to a soap opera and the suspense of the drama of each storyline was gripping!
November 21, 2025
Not my usual read but enjoyable all the same. Chose it due to the time of year thinking it would help the Christmas feels but other than a few odd references this could’ve been anytime of the year. That aside I found the war theme interesting and the plot was good but did take a while to get into, don’t give up on the first couple of chapters it does pick up pace as you get into it.
December 14, 2024
Well this book didn't grip me like the other three did.
It is only a three star as I just couldn't get into the story.
Unlike the other three this one didn't have the quality street feeling for me.
You sort of known what was happened in the book.
It is only a three star as I just couldn't get into the story.
Unlike the other three this one didn't have the quality street feeling for me.
You sort of known what was happened in the book.
December 20, 2024
A great and heart warming story of the women in Halifax. This is the first one of the 4 that I've read as I picked it up by chance. I'm looking forward to going back and reading the previous books. I really recommend a read
December 31, 2024
I have only just got back into reading and this is not a book i would usually go for however i really enjoyed it and cant wait to buy the other books. Only downfall was it was not as christmasey as i thought.
February 23, 2025
Average
Did not really enjoy this at all, dragging the stories on I long which had been used in the 1st two, I struggled with the 3rd one and
hoped this would be better, but
sorry to say not so
Did not really enjoy this at all, dragging the stories on I long which had been used in the 1st two, I struggled with the 3rd one and
hoped this would be better, but
sorry to say not so
November 25, 2025
This is the second book of this series that I have read and I struggled to maintain my interest. I much preferred the previous book, although the author did link some imaginery events at Mackintosh’s to historical events of the period. Not a favourite read.
December 16, 2025
i found this so fun and comforting. it’s such a grandparent book, like i know poppy would loooove this. the 4 stars is egregious, i know, but i just had so much fun! i want to read the rest of the series !
December 18, 2022
Didn’t feel this one was as good as the previous 3
April 29, 2024
loved the series
I would love it if there was a fifth book to see what happened to all the main characters especially Renee and Peter
I would love it if there was a fifth book to see what happened to all the main characters especially Renee and Peter
February 16, 2025
As it says a heartwarming story leading up. To 2nd world war, part of the quality street factory making gas masks and many families leaving to go to Canada or America.
December 23, 2025
Genuinely boring with absolutely no 'Christmas' about it other than the title.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews