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The Oxford Book of Christmas Stories
An anthology of thirty stories by many best-loved writers, such as Charles Dickens, Laurie Lee, Sue Townsend, Jacqueline Wilson, and Geraldine McCaughrean. Illustrations in colour and black and white by a range of artists complement the text. This is a treasury that gives a wide-ranging feel of Christmas and the seasonal celebrations that surround it, and one that will be read and enjoyed year after year.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 2, 2015
As we all know the saying you can't tell a book by it's cover; and a title doesn't always indicate what the book will be about--HOWEVER the summary on the book cover SHOULD tell the reader what to expect. I rated this book as a 1 star--because it did not meet it's own explanation--for that, this book should be rated a zero. The book jacket states "Children will find here all the special things that they associate with Christmas; mince-pies, nativity plays, presents, ghosts, carol singing, Christmas puddings and the birth of Jesus in the manager. The book will prove a constant joy to children and all the family at Christmas." I am not sure which child would find "constant joy" in stories reflecting family neglect; child abuse and sadness. To be fair, there are a few stories of Christmas joy, but not many. Short story writing is an art form; the author has a lot to portray in a few pages. Many of the stories do just that--convey a message or a feeling, HOWEVER the stories do not belong in a collection of Christmas stories that will bring "constant joy". If the reader wants to read a variety of well written short stories this book may be an option for you (and the quality of writing could rank as 4 stars)--HOWEVER if you want a collection of truly Christmas stories to share during the season, this book is not for you.
December 25, 2024
Out of 30 stories, only 3 were any good. Mostly weird ghost stories that didn't make any sense.
December 31, 2015
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2576679.html
A lot of good short (mostly very short) Christmas-related stories and extracts from longer works (eg Pickwick Papers, Adrian Mole). Many are about children, some are spooky. There's a particularly vicious piece by Frank O'Connor which is unusually dark (both for him and for this book). Suitable for browsing, but in particular for reading aloud at that time of year if you have people who will stop and listen.
A lot of good short (mostly very short) Christmas-related stories and extracts from longer works (eg Pickwick Papers, Adrian Mole). Many are about children, some are spooky. There's a particularly vicious piece by Frank O'Connor which is unusually dark (both for him and for this book). Suitable for browsing, but in particular for reading aloud at that time of year if you have people who will stop and listen.
December 30, 2017
A great collection of Christmas, yuletide, and winter stories. Most of the stories are set in Britain, with a a few taking place elsewhere (Australia, Bethlehem, Bohemia). What is harder to discern until you start reading them is that editor Dennis Pepper has done a remarkable job of sequencing the stories into themes. Pepper starts with winter fairytales and ice-skating tales, before getting into tales about "shopping-centre father-christmases", nativities and schoolplays, and then caroling, Christmas ghost stories, yarns about gift-giving, and also a few stories that tell the historical origins of a few famous Christmas characters. All the stories are illustrated with beautiful illustrations, ranging from line-drawing, to watercolour, acrylics, and more from several different illustrators.
There are some very bleak and morbid tales, such as A Christmas Eve (Harry Macfie), A Christmas Pudding Improved With Keeping (Philippa Pearce), and Christmas in the Floods (Olaf Ruhen), so this collection may not be suitable for younger children.
My favourites were the stories about the supernatural, such as Welcome Yule (Jan Mark), A Lot of Mince Pies (Robert Swindells), Ghost Alarm (Nicholas Fisk), The Charcoal Burner (Gerald Kersh), and The Ivy Man (John Gordon), all of which lean upon the tradition of Christmassy eeriness, something which seems to have evaporated from the modern Christmas.
The weakest offerings were actually from the household names authors; the tales: Mr Pickwick on Ice (Charles Dickens), Call me Blessed (Jacqueline Wilson), and Adrian Mole's Christmas (Sue Townsend) felt like they were directly lifted from larger works. Perhaps this was so that Oxford University Press could add some reputability to the collection?
In all, a decent collection of 30 short stories that cover a range of genres and styles.
There are some very bleak and morbid tales, such as A Christmas Eve (Harry Macfie), A Christmas Pudding Improved With Keeping (Philippa Pearce), and Christmas in the Floods (Olaf Ruhen), so this collection may not be suitable for younger children.
My favourites were the stories about the supernatural, such as Welcome Yule (Jan Mark), A Lot of Mince Pies (Robert Swindells), Ghost Alarm (Nicholas Fisk), The Charcoal Burner (Gerald Kersh), and The Ivy Man (John Gordon), all of which lean upon the tradition of Christmassy eeriness, something which seems to have evaporated from the modern Christmas.
The weakest offerings were actually from the household names authors; the tales: Mr Pickwick on Ice (Charles Dickens), Call me Blessed (Jacqueline Wilson), and Adrian Mole's Christmas (Sue Townsend) felt like they were directly lifted from larger works. Perhaps this was so that Oxford University Press could add some reputability to the collection?
In all, a decent collection of 30 short stories that cover a range of genres and styles.
December 14, 2020
When I was a child, my family bought this book, intending it to be a cosy read-aloud. However, we never got past the first couple of stories.
This was for the best.
I discovered it several years later, as a teenager. I was fascinated by the variety of tales and genres, particularly the emphasis on the supernatural. These stories are genuinely disturbing, and if I had been any younger when I read them, I would have been very upset.
For example:
I highly recommend this book for ages thirteen and up, particularly for those who enjoy horror and ghost stories, although it includes other genres as well. The writing is good, and the book is an enjoyable contrast to the cloying messages of many Christmas anthologies.
This was for the best.
I discovered it several years later, as a teenager. I was fascinated by the variety of tales and genres, particularly the emphasis on the supernatural. These stories are genuinely disturbing, and if I had been any younger when I read them, I would have been very upset.
For example:
I highly recommend this book for ages thirteen and up, particularly for those who enjoy horror and ghost stories, although it includes other genres as well. The writing is good, and the book is an enjoyable contrast to the cloying messages of many Christmas anthologies.
December 15, 2023
This is a book for children (8-12 age group), but what is Christmas for if not remembering one's childhood? There are some gems in here, from Dickens (Charles) to Townsend (Sue) via Laurie Lee, Shirley Jackson and, somewhat surprisingly, Gerald Kersh. I was expecting both The Loudest Voice and an extract from The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, but instead there are quite a few writers I’d not heard of: Nicholas Fisk, Catherine Storr, John Gordon. A lot of the stories are similar to the kinds of things I would’ve read as a child in the '80s: morality tales in which bullies get their comeuppance and families learn to get along (y’kind of wish Roald Dahl would have done Xmas in one of his books).
My favourite was "Brown Baby" by Gwen Grant, in which two children realise the true meaning of Xmas – acceptance of others and getting one over on the annoying kid. It is set in Worksop, near where I grew up, with the attendant dialect and accents and attitudes.
My favourite was "Brown Baby" by Gwen Grant, in which two children realise the true meaning of Xmas – acceptance of others and getting one over on the annoying kid. It is set in Worksop, near where I grew up, with the attendant dialect and accents and attitudes.
January 7, 2020
If you're looking for a collection of traditional, cozy Christmas stories, this isn't it. If you're okay with a collection including many sad, some rather disturbing stories, many only loosely linked to Christmas, then you might enjoy this.
I didn't manage to read all the stories. Once I realised that some were not going to be to my taste, I chose which ones to read by the illustrations and the authors. The stories I enjoyed the most were the two that looked at the Nativity story from an unusual perspective, by Jacqueline Wilson and Charles C. O'Connell. I also liked Laurie Lee's account of his boyhood Christmases, and Kathleen Hersom's apparently true story of Polish refugee children in Germany after WW2. Some of the ghost stories were quite good, particularly Jan Mark's and Catherine Storr's. Geraldine McCaughrean's comic tale was also fun.
I didn't manage to read all the stories. Once I realised that some were not going to be to my taste, I chose which ones to read by the illustrations and the authors. The stories I enjoyed the most were the two that looked at the Nativity story from an unusual perspective, by Jacqueline Wilson and Charles C. O'Connell. I also liked Laurie Lee's account of his boyhood Christmases, and Kathleen Hersom's apparently true story of Polish refugee children in Germany after WW2. Some of the ghost stories were quite good, particularly Jan Mark's and Catherine Storr's. Geraldine McCaughrean's comic tale was also fun.
December 25, 2021
Interesting choices for an anthology. Almost none of them have happy endings, which is really great, because in the spirit of Christmas, it's what we really do need, some inspiring stories but in the Christian Anderson way...
not for kids though...lol!
I was told recently by a creative writing Ph.D. that Christmas stories were written as a reaction to the current times. She particularly cited Dicken's work, not included here, but the point was A Christmas Carol was about his reaction to the poverty that he saw around him. And hence why the Ghosts look a particular way and come after Mr. Scroog in the way they do. It has inspired me to look at Christmas stories from a myriad of authors, women and men, and what their particular focus was in said time. Worthwhile if you want a good mix of happy and serious stories.
not for kids though...lol!
I was told recently by a creative writing Ph.D. that Christmas stories were written as a reaction to the current times. She particularly cited Dicken's work, not included here, but the point was A Christmas Carol was about his reaction to the poverty that he saw around him. And hence why the Ghosts look a particular way and come after Mr. Scroog in the way they do. It has inspired me to look at Christmas stories from a myriad of authors, women and men, and what their particular focus was in said time. Worthwhile if you want a good mix of happy and serious stories.
October 25, 2021
I was reading to see if there were any stories I could read at church over Christmas. Possibly the last one, ‘Court Martial’ by Charles C. O’Connell, about the Roman soldier who allowed Joseph, Mary and Jesus to escape. A good couple of Australian stories. Lots of ghost stories; I had forgotten that Christmas is a time for ghost stories in the UK. Not in sunny Australia!
December 26, 2024
18/12/2022 I didn't realise until writing this review that Dennis Pepper was the editor of this collection as well as the Young Oxford collection of Christmas stories I read (some of) this Christmas! I got the Young Oxford collection from the library, but this collection was one I picked up from a book sale. There is no introduction to this one, but I liked how the cover and front page (before the title page and ISBN info etc) is an extract from the Bible story of Jesus's birth. This was unusual!
There are 30 stories in this collection and I only read a few. I'll look forward to enjoying some more next year! Here are my reviews on the seven randomly selected stories I read:
David Henry Wilson - Father Christmas and Father Christmas - young Jeremy James is quite confused by meeting two very different looking Santas - one at the shops and one at the church, and rousts the poor vicar in this amusing story with a naive narrator.
Shirley Jackson - A Visit to the Bank - a woman who struggles to manage her budget goes to the bank to ask for a loan. The bank manager sees her coming.
Robert Leeson - Burper and the Magic Lamp - an unpopular class bully falls in love and learns to be a better person. Not particularly linked to Christmas (only through the school pantomime).
Jan Mark - Welcome, Yule - 2nd favourite - told from the point of view of the daughter of a local workman who can play the organ, this is a story of a village that knows something the new vicar doesn't know and he has to learn the hard way.
Hugh Oliver - The Christmas Gift - a stranger asks for shelter on the night a man's wife is struggling to give birth, and gives them a blessing. Nice.
Robin Klein - Get Lost - this was my favourite of the collection. A young Australian boy has had a miserable life and learned to manage by being awful to everyone. He spends Christmas in hospital with a stoic nurse.
John Gordon - The Ivy Man - not really my cup of tea. A creepy old woman asks a young man to sacrifice himself to the Ivy Man. Set in modern times. The boy is keen on a girl who won't give him the time of day and who also wants him to do this.
I think these were better quality stories than the Young Oxford collection ones. Looking forward to reading more of these next year.
27/12/2024 Looks like I missed a year :) This year I only managed a few (the first 4 in the collection):
Grandfather Frost - James Riordan - 4 stars. I'm not sure if this was an original fairy tale or a retelling of an old one, but while this has a wintry theme, it has many familiar elements. Other than being about winter, however, there is no hint of Christmas here. An old man had a daughter with his first wife. His second wife brought her own daughter to the marriage. She spoils her daughter and is cruel to her stepdaughter, so the old man's daughter does all the housework. One day the old woman convinces the old man to abandon his daughter in the forest. Grandfather Frost threatens to freeze her, but he likes her politeness and gifts her furs and jewels instead. Of course the old woman wants the same treatment for her daughter, but will she be polite?
The Snow-man - Mabel Marlowe - 3 stars - A snowman without clothes feels the cold, and threatens a gipsy, a ploughboy, and a tame pirate to steal their warm gear, but he meets his match in the amiable schoolmaster.
Mr Pickwick on the Ice - Charles Dickens - 2 stars - I've read a handful of Dickens novels but I am not familiar with The Pickwick Papers, and I suspect this story needs a bit of familiarity with the characters to really appreciate it. It is a short vignette of a group frolicking on the ice. I did enjoy the image of Mr Pickwick sprinting home!
Sliding - Leslie Norris - 3 stars - Similar to the previous story, this was about skating on the ice, but this story had moments of darkness and somberness. It tells of a group of young Welsh boys (perhaps aged 9-11) in the brutal cold of winter, and how they play with each other and support each other.
Still to go (listing here in advance of next year):
Brown Baby - Gwen Grant
Carol-barking - Laurie Lee
A Lot of Mince-pies - Robert Swindells
Ghost Alarm - Nicholas Fisk
Christmas in the Rectory - Catherine Storr
A Christmas Pudding Improved with Keeping - Philippa Pearce
Call Me Blessed - Jacqueline Wilson
The Christmas Present - Kathleen Hersom
A Present for Grannie Fox - Norman Smithson
Adrian Mole's Christmas - Sue Townsend
The Lost Boy - George Mackay Brown
Christmas Morning - Frank O'Connor
An Assault on Santa Clause - Timothy Callender
The Anarchist's Pudding - Geraldine McCaughrean
Christmas in the Floods - Olaf Ruhen
A Christmas Eve - Harry Macfie
The Charcoal Burner - Gerald Kersh
Lost Leader - Dennis Hamley
Court Martial - Charles C. O'Connell
There are 30 stories in this collection and I only read a few. I'll look forward to enjoying some more next year! Here are my reviews on the seven randomly selected stories I read:
David Henry Wilson - Father Christmas and Father Christmas - young Jeremy James is quite confused by meeting two very different looking Santas - one at the shops and one at the church, and rousts the poor vicar in this amusing story with a naive narrator.
Shirley Jackson - A Visit to the Bank - a woman who struggles to manage her budget goes to the bank to ask for a loan. The bank manager sees her coming.
Robert Leeson - Burper and the Magic Lamp - an unpopular class bully falls in love and learns to be a better person. Not particularly linked to Christmas (only through the school pantomime).
Jan Mark - Welcome, Yule - 2nd favourite - told from the point of view of the daughter of a local workman who can play the organ, this is a story of a village that knows something the new vicar doesn't know and he has to learn the hard way.
Hugh Oliver - The Christmas Gift - a stranger asks for shelter on the night a man's wife is struggling to give birth, and gives them a blessing. Nice.
Robin Klein - Get Lost - this was my favourite of the collection. A young Australian boy has had a miserable life and learned to manage by being awful to everyone. He spends Christmas in hospital with a stoic nurse.
John Gordon - The Ivy Man - not really my cup of tea. A creepy old woman asks a young man to sacrifice himself to the Ivy Man. Set in modern times. The boy is keen on a girl who won't give him the time of day and who also wants him to do this.
I think these were better quality stories than the Young Oxford collection ones. Looking forward to reading more of these next year.
27/12/2024 Looks like I missed a year :) This year I only managed a few (the first 4 in the collection):
Grandfather Frost - James Riordan - 4 stars. I'm not sure if this was an original fairy tale or a retelling of an old one, but while this has a wintry theme, it has many familiar elements. Other than being about winter, however, there is no hint of Christmas here. An old man had a daughter with his first wife. His second wife brought her own daughter to the marriage. She spoils her daughter and is cruel to her stepdaughter, so the old man's daughter does all the housework. One day the old woman convinces the old man to abandon his daughter in the forest. Grandfather Frost threatens to freeze her, but he likes her politeness and gifts her furs and jewels instead. Of course the old woman wants the same treatment for her daughter, but will she be polite?
The Snow-man - Mabel Marlowe - 3 stars - A snowman without clothes feels the cold, and threatens a gipsy, a ploughboy, and a tame pirate to steal their warm gear, but he meets his match in the amiable schoolmaster.
Mr Pickwick on the Ice - Charles Dickens - 2 stars - I've read a handful of Dickens novels but I am not familiar with The Pickwick Papers, and I suspect this story needs a bit of familiarity with the characters to really appreciate it. It is a short vignette of a group frolicking on the ice. I did enjoy the image of Mr Pickwick sprinting home!
Sliding - Leslie Norris - 3 stars - Similar to the previous story, this was about skating on the ice, but this story had moments of darkness and somberness. It tells of a group of young Welsh boys (perhaps aged 9-11) in the brutal cold of winter, and how they play with each other and support each other.
Still to go (listing here in advance of next year):
Brown Baby - Gwen Grant
Carol-barking - Laurie Lee
A Lot of Mince-pies - Robert Swindells
Ghost Alarm - Nicholas Fisk
Christmas in the Rectory - Catherine Storr
A Christmas Pudding Improved with Keeping - Philippa Pearce
Call Me Blessed - Jacqueline Wilson
The Christmas Present - Kathleen Hersom
A Present for Grannie Fox - Norman Smithson
Adrian Mole's Christmas - Sue Townsend
The Lost Boy - George Mackay Brown
Christmas Morning - Frank O'Connor
An Assault on Santa Clause - Timothy Callender
The Anarchist's Pudding - Geraldine McCaughrean
Christmas in the Floods - Olaf Ruhen
A Christmas Eve - Harry Macfie
The Charcoal Burner - Gerald Kersh
Lost Leader - Dennis Hamley
Court Martial - Charles C. O'Connell
January 19, 2022
A collection of short christmas stories which are funny, interesting and some illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. An unusual grouping of modern and classic authors.
January 7, 2017
A more appropriate title might be Oxford Book of December Tales: most of the stories occurred during the days around Christmas, but many didn't involve Christmas (which was fine with me). The one involving the vampire is a case on point.
I had never heard of any of the stories in this collections, which was a pleasant surprise.
I had never heard of any of the stories in this collections, which was a pleasant surprise.
February 12, 2010
At least now I know that Christmas stories that include vampires, ghosts, nightmares and the like are not really my cup of tea. The two stars are mostly for the inclusion of a story by Charles Dickens.
December 24, 2013
Out of this collection, I listened to the short story A Lot of Mince Pies as read by David Tennant for BBC Radio 4 Extra A Night With A Vampire. This and the previous episode were the best two stories of the series! Christmas and vampires - what's not to like? :)
March 20, 2008
The perfect read-aloud collection that we just discovered this year.
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