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Spirit of the Season
'The perfect Christmas story!'
Spirit of the Season is the incredible story of one man’s selfless journey to achieve the impossible.
Set in the realistic and earthy environment of 18th-century England, Brian Lamont’s startling narrative also refers to some of the darker aspects of the Industrial Revolution and introduces the reader to a host of colourful characters, who are brimming with old-world charm.
As mid-winter approaches, there unfolds a humorous, moving and powerfully uplifting festive tale – for everyone.
An ideal Christmas gift!
Reader Reviews 'tidings of joy', Concrete, UEA. 'a little gem of English literature ... a delight', M Bloomfield, Edinburgh. 'wonderful', J Rogers, London. 'truly surprising', E Quane, Norwich. 'phenomenal', P Athow, St Andrews.
While Christmas stories regularly come and go, ‘Spirit of the Season’ remains a firm favourite among the categories of historical fiction and children’s literature. In this charming novel for all, Brian Lamont’s unique prose elevates traditional Christmas reading, such as 'The Night Before Christmas' or 'A Christmas Carol', to new heights, while presenting a thoroughly entertaining and emotionally uplifting addition to any collection of seasonal books. Furthermore, Lamont’s combination of eloquent storytelling, English history and festive joy makes ‘Spirit of the Season’ a must read! J Penbury, Edinburgh.
Also available by Brian Lamont from Amazon Kindle – Norfolk Broadsides, The Miller’s Tale, Doctor Wagner, In This Style.
Spirit of the Season is the incredible story of one man’s selfless journey to achieve the impossible.
Set in the realistic and earthy environment of 18th-century England, Brian Lamont’s startling narrative also refers to some of the darker aspects of the Industrial Revolution and introduces the reader to a host of colourful characters, who are brimming with old-world charm.
As mid-winter approaches, there unfolds a humorous, moving and powerfully uplifting festive tale – for everyone.
An ideal Christmas gift!
Reader Reviews 'tidings of joy', Concrete, UEA. 'a little gem of English literature ... a delight', M Bloomfield, Edinburgh. 'wonderful', J Rogers, London. 'truly surprising', E Quane, Norwich. 'phenomenal', P Athow, St Andrews.
While Christmas stories regularly come and go, ‘Spirit of the Season’ remains a firm favourite among the categories of historical fiction and children’s literature. In this charming novel for all, Brian Lamont’s unique prose elevates traditional Christmas reading, such as 'The Night Before Christmas' or 'A Christmas Carol', to new heights, while presenting a thoroughly entertaining and emotionally uplifting addition to any collection of seasonal books. Furthermore, Lamont’s combination of eloquent storytelling, English history and festive joy makes ‘Spirit of the Season’ a must read! J Penbury, Edinburgh.
Also available by Brian Lamont from Amazon Kindle – Norfolk Broadsides, The Miller’s Tale, Doctor Wagner, In This Style.
- GenresChristmas
134 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2012
About the author
Brian Lamont
13 books4 followersBrian Lamont was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1964. He left school at 15 and worked in a variety of manual jobs before entering Edinburgh University as a mature student in 1995, where he graduated with an MA Honours degree in English Literature in 1999. At Edinburgh, Brian developed an interest in written and spoken English language varieties and the structure of stories.
In 2006, Brian obtained a Masters degree in Culture and Communication from the School of English and American Studies at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Here, Brian concentrated his studies on ideas about the self, and individual and cultural identity.
Brian’s writing is typically concise and understated, and usually conceals hidden, often darker undertones.
In 2006, Brian obtained a Masters degree in Culture and Communication from the School of English and American Studies at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Here, Brian concentrated his studies on ideas about the self, and individual and cultural identity.
Brian’s writing is typically concise and understated, and usually conceals hidden, often darker undertones.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 26, 2023
Deep, thoughtful, poetic, imaginative and hopeful.
[© Isaac Levitan. “Village. Winterâ€]
â€Ho!†Indeed, as the blurb states this book can be called a ‘perfect Christmas story’, but it surely holds much more than that. There is nothing ‘religious’ in this story, though it does have a lot of ‘spirit’ that is sure to stay back with the reader for a long time after completing the book.
“In an age long past, when homes were lit with soft yellow flames and warmed by the heat from wood fires…â€
Brian Lamont`s Spirit of the Season is a beautifully written wonderful tale of a candlemaker, who after going through a difficult time in his early life and then the tragic loss of loved ones, decides to embark on an incredible selfless journey which surely appears impossible at first.
There were bluebells on the ground, blossom was on the trees and mayflies filled the air. In summer crops were in the fields, fish basked in the river and the smell of baking bread was found in every home. Autumn was the time for apples, and nuts and leaves covered the forest floor.
The storyline of Spirit of the Season, which is set during the 18th Century England, even though basically revolves around the Christmas spirit and the season of winter, the purpose is to deliver many thought-provoking messages and lessons about life and living.
‘We all need someone to believe in us.’
The story addresses the periods of sadness and depression that a child goes through, and stresses the importance of encouragement and belief of the parents in the child.
Discrimination, the way people, particularly children, were treated at the advent of the industrial era, and the abandonment of villages in order to move to the cities during the industrial revolution are also touched upon as part of this story.
The core of Spirit of the Season highlights the creed that service to humanity is the most valuable and fulfilling work of life. A life lived selflessly is much richer, meaningful and contented. The main protagonist realises that helping others is the best way to help self, and this also lessens the pain caused by life`s tragedies.
Many of the tasks that seem impossible will become achievable, and things fall in place when a person goes out with a purpose to serve.
‘Nothing good ever came into this world that was not laughed at, to begin with. You will find some set their minds against you, but remember, if you win the hearts of only a few, you can ride on that faith to the moon and back – forever.’
The story of the candlemaker is all about restoring our belief in mankind and spreading the message of hope.
A day, it seemed, went by in a second, and yet appeared to last forever.
It is indeed surprising to know that despite the splendid writing and a delightful story, Spirit of the Season is not so popular and well known. The author, Brian Lamont, has an interesting background. As mentioned on the Goodreads profile, Brian left school at the age of 15, worked many manual jobs before graduating in English literature as a mature student from Edinburgh University.
‘For you, my love.’
[© Isaac Levitan. “Village. Winterâ€]
â€Ho!†Indeed, as the blurb states this book can be called a ‘perfect Christmas story’, but it surely holds much more than that. There is nothing ‘religious’ in this story, though it does have a lot of ‘spirit’ that is sure to stay back with the reader for a long time after completing the book.
“In an age long past, when homes were lit with soft yellow flames and warmed by the heat from wood fires…â€
Brian Lamont`s Spirit of the Season is a beautifully written wonderful tale of a candlemaker, who after going through a difficult time in his early life and then the tragic loss of loved ones, decides to embark on an incredible selfless journey which surely appears impossible at first.
There were bluebells on the ground, blossom was on the trees and mayflies filled the air. In summer crops were in the fields, fish basked in the river and the smell of baking bread was found in every home. Autumn was the time for apples, and nuts and leaves covered the forest floor.
The storyline of Spirit of the Season, which is set during the 18th Century England, even though basically revolves around the Christmas spirit and the season of winter, the purpose is to deliver many thought-provoking messages and lessons about life and living.
‘We all need someone to believe in us.’
The story addresses the periods of sadness and depression that a child goes through, and stresses the importance of encouragement and belief of the parents in the child.
Discrimination, the way people, particularly children, were treated at the advent of the industrial era, and the abandonment of villages in order to move to the cities during the industrial revolution are also touched upon as part of this story.
The core of Spirit of the Season highlights the creed that service to humanity is the most valuable and fulfilling work of life. A life lived selflessly is much richer, meaningful and contented. The main protagonist realises that helping others is the best way to help self, and this also lessens the pain caused by life`s tragedies.
‘What is it you’re looking for?’ asked the ringmaster.
‘I want to race against the sunrise,’ said the candle maker.
‘Well, it’s always night somewhere,’ replied the ringmaster.
Many of the tasks that seem impossible will become achievable, and things fall in place when a person goes out with a purpose to serve.
‘Nothing good ever came into this world that was not laughed at, to begin with. You will find some set their minds against you, but remember, if you win the hearts of only a few, you can ride on that faith to the moon and back – forever.’
The story of the candlemaker is all about restoring our belief in mankind and spreading the message of hope.
A day, it seemed, went by in a second, and yet appeared to last forever.
It is indeed surprising to know that despite the splendid writing and a delightful story, Spirit of the Season is not so popular and well known. The author, Brian Lamont, has an interesting background. As mentioned on the Goodreads profile, Brian left school at the age of 15, worked many manual jobs before graduating in English literature as a mature student from Edinburgh University.
‘For you, my love.’
June 3, 2021
Spirit of the season by Brian Lamont, a perfect Christmas late-night indulgence for children, the story is well blended with hope, joyous and melancholic. The author was able to set up an immaculate stage for the 18th century, before the industrial revolution in London. The protagonist, Candle man sweeping off the darkness in the outer world and enlightening people’s life by offering candles. As the story goes along, the candle, a metaphor for plucking out inner darkness such as fear, despair, wariness, and planting seeds of hope, jovial and humanitarian values.
The novel opens up with the enigmatic lifestyle of the candle maker, who was disconnected from the civilians and leading a self-centered solitary life at the outskirts of the village. His anthropophobia faded away when he rescued an injured squire, in return, he gifted the candle maker a horse. As years passed, Candlemaker mastered horse riding and happened to win a horse race, his astonishing triumphant over Butcher’s son, one who unbeatable by anyone else before, turned over a new leaf in his static life. After candle man’s miraculous victory, he tied the knot with the shopkeeper's daughter, who had shown faith in his talent. They together fulfilled the villager’s life with joy and hope through their candle services and other philanthropic works. Unexpectedly, their blissful marriage ends up on a distorted note when the candlemaker confronts the loss of his wife and child, which threw him into a miserable alcoholic life afterward. The endurance of pain and agony that he went through was heart-wrenching, the author able to articulate his anguish in light artistic touch.
After the long dark night of the soul, a glimmer of hope unfurls on the candle maker's life when the little boy appeared at his door, whose sister almost disappeared in that blizzard winter. The encounter with the boy has turned a new chapter for the candle man’s life. Rays of hope began to flow in the village, once they carried on serving candles to the villagers. . Following this, a Magician walks into the candle man’s life enlightens a different methodology of reaching out to people and elevate their happiness. Finally, Tailor, the small man accompanied candle man’s nomadic life. Tailor was astonished to witness candlemaker devotion to villagers by his selfless attitude and giving away nature. Later, he mirrored candle man’s footsteps to liberate himself.
The introduction of the magician exemplifies that author careful enough to fill that boredom with a nip of magic and fantasy. Even though I could find some dullness and mind-numbing in the later part of this fiction, the Novel does speak the depth of emotional attachment between characters but not nearly enough, I found blur in some of the role buildups and involvement with candle man.
However, The novelist showcases less importance in deploying the name of the characters, which is intended to symbolize the paradigm of modern society. Needless to say, the creator successfully upholds the value of gratitude to those things we are taking for granted in our life such as modes of transportation, electricity, and sustenance. Moreover, the novel depicted in simple and mediocre language, the inclusion of archaic words throughout the novel embellished the narration in the 1900s.
This book didn't exceed my expectation as I had hoped for and I would give it 3.7stars(3.7/5). Nevertheless, I would say this novel lean towards one of the enthralling folkloric tales, carved in a way to gravitate children.
The novel opens up with the enigmatic lifestyle of the candle maker, who was disconnected from the civilians and leading a self-centered solitary life at the outskirts of the village. His anthropophobia faded away when he rescued an injured squire, in return, he gifted the candle maker a horse. As years passed, Candlemaker mastered horse riding and happened to win a horse race, his astonishing triumphant over Butcher’s son, one who unbeatable by anyone else before, turned over a new leaf in his static life. After candle man’s miraculous victory, he tied the knot with the shopkeeper's daughter, who had shown faith in his talent. They together fulfilled the villager’s life with joy and hope through their candle services and other philanthropic works. Unexpectedly, their blissful marriage ends up on a distorted note when the candlemaker confronts the loss of his wife and child, which threw him into a miserable alcoholic life afterward. The endurance of pain and agony that he went through was heart-wrenching, the author able to articulate his anguish in light artistic touch.
After the long dark night of the soul, a glimmer of hope unfurls on the candle maker's life when the little boy appeared at his door, whose sister almost disappeared in that blizzard winter. The encounter with the boy has turned a new chapter for the candle man’s life. Rays of hope began to flow in the village, once they carried on serving candles to the villagers. . Following this, a Magician walks into the candle man’s life enlightens a different methodology of reaching out to people and elevate their happiness. Finally, Tailor, the small man accompanied candle man’s nomadic life. Tailor was astonished to witness candlemaker devotion to villagers by his selfless attitude and giving away nature. Later, he mirrored candle man’s footsteps to liberate himself.
The introduction of the magician exemplifies that author careful enough to fill that boredom with a nip of magic and fantasy. Even though I could find some dullness and mind-numbing in the later part of this fiction, the Novel does speak the depth of emotional attachment between characters but not nearly enough, I found blur in some of the role buildups and involvement with candle man.
However, The novelist showcases less importance in deploying the name of the characters, which is intended to symbolize the paradigm of modern society. Needless to say, the creator successfully upholds the value of gratitude to those things we are taking for granted in our life such as modes of transportation, electricity, and sustenance. Moreover, the novel depicted in simple and mediocre language, the inclusion of archaic words throughout the novel embellished the narration in the 1900s.
This book didn't exceed my expectation as I had hoped for and I would give it 3.7stars(3.7/5). Nevertheless, I would say this novel lean towards one of the enthralling folkloric tales, carved in a way to gravitate children.
December 27, 2020
A Light in the Darkness 🕯
A village carrying decades of grief, accusations, and hope-crushing hardships is home to candle makers, apprentices, and abandoned bales of flax. When a traveling circus brings jingling bells and colorful carts to town, fur-trimmed coats, glowing lanterns, cheerful greetings, and waxy layers of hope start to flicker back to life. Throughout these pages, the author cleverly includes origins of Christmas-related associations with chimneys, sleighs, stockings, reindeer, trees, ornaments, and the simple magic of snowflakes.
Just keep believing, and he will appear! 🎅🏽
A village carrying decades of grief, accusations, and hope-crushing hardships is home to candle makers, apprentices, and abandoned bales of flax. When a traveling circus brings jingling bells and colorful carts to town, fur-trimmed coats, glowing lanterns, cheerful greetings, and waxy layers of hope start to flicker back to life. Throughout these pages, the author cleverly includes origins of Christmas-related associations with chimneys, sleighs, stockings, reindeer, trees, ornaments, and the simple magic of snowflakes.
Just keep believing, and he will appear! 🎅🏽
April 7, 2018
Refreshing and heart-warming in equal measures. This would be a lovely story to share in the run up to Christmas.
November 27, 2018
A pleasing read
A delightful book. Is this how the original Father Christmas started? Who knows, you can decide fir yourself. HO HO HO!
A delightful book. Is this how the original Father Christmas started? Who knows, you can decide fir yourself. HO HO HO!
December 21, 2025
I did not like the book at all. I see now why the names of the characters should be given whether fictional or not. Not one name was given to the characters. A name is so important to any person.
June 21, 2020
The kind of book you want to read to your kids while curling up on the couch near fireside on a chilly Christmas eve. the novel as a historical fiction takes the readers back to good old village times prior to the advent of modern machinery.
Set in the early 18th Century England, the story revolves around a generous candlemaker who sets out to spread happiness and hope around the world with his miraculous candles that can cure any darkness with the brightest light one has ever seen. The candle serves as a symbol for ‘hope’ that can bring about the end of darkness and despair usually associated with the season of winter. The novel as a whole can be defined as a ray of hope for those who dare to believe in miracles.
The Candlemaker stands for purity, innocence, selfless giving and the cheerful spirit of the season.
The novel follows his incredible journey from being a naive country boy to becoming a selfless candle maker who devotes his life to bring happiness into children’s lives all around the world. His visit was welcomed by young and old, rich and poor alike.
The novel opens with the classic once-upon-a-time story in third-person narration. The simplicity of the language makes it an easy read even for beginners of English. Mr. Lamont’s storytelling is embellished with a pinch of magic sparkles here and there. It is interesting to note that the characters are all nameless, signifying the author’s deliberate attempt to emphasize the virtues and traits instead of humanizing and focusing on their individuality. The gradual change of time from the tranquil country life to the toxic industrial age is also shown through the eyes of the central character.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this charming piece of fiction that restores faith even in the coldest of hearts. Needless to say, one would feel elated after finishing this book as it convinces you to put faith in miracles. The author has successfully done his job to make up for the loss of faith in the modern era by retelling a refreshing tale that is no less than uplifting. I would recommend this not just to kids but to people of all ages, particularly those who cling on to every bit of hope in the dark times. In short, this little novel is very much captivating and would make an ideal Christmas gift to your loved ones.
Set in the early 18th Century England, the story revolves around a generous candlemaker who sets out to spread happiness and hope around the world with his miraculous candles that can cure any darkness with the brightest light one has ever seen. The candle serves as a symbol for ‘hope’ that can bring about the end of darkness and despair usually associated with the season of winter. The novel as a whole can be defined as a ray of hope for those who dare to believe in miracles.
The Candlemaker stands for purity, innocence, selfless giving and the cheerful spirit of the season.
The novel follows his incredible journey from being a naive country boy to becoming a selfless candle maker who devotes his life to bring happiness into children’s lives all around the world. His visit was welcomed by young and old, rich and poor alike.
The novel opens with the classic once-upon-a-time story in third-person narration. The simplicity of the language makes it an easy read even for beginners of English. Mr. Lamont’s storytelling is embellished with a pinch of magic sparkles here and there. It is interesting to note that the characters are all nameless, signifying the author’s deliberate attempt to emphasize the virtues and traits instead of humanizing and focusing on their individuality. The gradual change of time from the tranquil country life to the toxic industrial age is also shown through the eyes of the central character.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this charming piece of fiction that restores faith even in the coldest of hearts. Needless to say, one would feel elated after finishing this book as it convinces you to put faith in miracles. The author has successfully done his job to make up for the loss of faith in the modern era by retelling a refreshing tale that is no less than uplifting. I would recommend this not just to kids but to people of all ages, particularly those who cling on to every bit of hope in the dark times. In short, this little novel is very much captivating and would make an ideal Christmas gift to your loved ones.
November 15, 2016
Absolutely charming.
What an original tale of Christmas,the story of Santa,told in such a charming way, it's a tale for a winter's night especially Christmas Eve, I love this it's great for all ages,read it yourself,read it to your children,read it to your grandchildren,as long as you read it,it's a perfect book.
What an original tale of Christmas,the story of Santa,told in such a charming way, it's a tale for a winter's night especially Christmas Eve, I love this it's great for all ages,read it yourself,read it to your children,read it to your grandchildren,as long as you read it,it's a perfect book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews