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A Homespun Regency Christmas
Four previously published Signet Regency Christmas novellas together for the first time in a charming new anthology. Includes "An Object of Charity", "The Wexford Carol", "Mistletoe and Folly", and "Upon a Midnight Clear".
Contains:
“An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jensen
“Mistletoe and Folly” and Sandra Heath
“Upon a Midnight Clear” by Amanda McCabe
Contains:
“An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jensen
“Mistletoe and Folly” and Sandra Heath
“Upon a Midnight Clear” by Amanda McCabe
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 7, 2008
1 person is currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Carla Kelly
137 books805 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
Although Carla Kelly is well known among her readers as a writer of Regency romance, her main interest (and first writing success) is Western American fiction—more specifically, writing about America's Indian Wars. Although she had sold some of her work before, it was not until Carla began work in the National Park Service as a ranger/historian at Fort Laramie National Historic Site did she get serious about her writing career. (Or as she would be the first to admit, as serious as it gets.)
Carla wrote a series of what she now refers to as the "Fort Laramie stories," which are tales of the men, women and children of the Indian Wars era in Western history. Two of her stories, A Season for Heroes and Kathleen Flaherty's Long Winter, earned her Spur Awards from the Western Writers of America. She was the second woman to earn two Spurs from WWA (which, as everyone knows, is all you need to ride a horse). Her entire Indian Wars collection was published in 2003 as Here's to the Ladies: Stories of the Frontier Army. It remains her favorite work.
The mother of five children, Carla has always allowed her kids to earn their keep by appearing in her Regencies, most notably Marian's Christmas Wish, which is peopled by all kinds of relatives. Grown now, the Kelly kids are scattered here and there across the U.S. They continue to provide feedback, furnish fodder for stories and make frantic phone calls home during the holidays for recipes. (Carla Kelly is some cook.)
Carla's husband, Martin, is Director of Theatre at Valley City State University, in Valley City, North Dakota. Carla is currently overworked as a staff writer at the local daily newspaper. She also writes a weekly, award-winning column, "Prairie Lite."
Carla only started writing Regencies because of her interest in the Napoleonic Wars, which figures in many of her Regency novels and short stories. She specializes in writing about warfare at sea, and about the ordinary people of the British Isles who were, let's face it, far more numerous than lords and ladies.
Hobbies? She likes to crochet afghans, and read British crime fiction and history, principally military history. She's never happier than talking about the fur trade or Indian Wars with Park Service cronies. Her most recent gig with the National Park Service was at Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site on the Montana/North Dakota border.
Here's another side to this somewhat prosaic woman: She recently edited the fur trade journal of Swiss artist Rudolf F. Kurz (the 1851-1852 portion), and is gratified now and then to be asked to speak on scholarly subjects. She has also worked for the State Historical Society of North Dakota as a contract researcher. This has taken her to glamorous drudgery in several national archives and military history repositories. Gray archives boxes and old documents make her salivate.
Her mantra for writing comes from the subject of her thesis, Robert Utley, that dean of Indian Wars history. He told her the secret to writing is "to put your ass in the chair and keep it there until you're done." He's right, of course.
Her three favorite fictional works have remained constant through the years, although their rankings tend to shift: War and Peace, The Lawrenceville Stories, and A Town Like Alice. Favorite historical works are One Vast Winter Count, On the Border with Mackenzie and Crossing the Line. Favorite crime fiction authors are Michael Connelly, John Harvey and Peter Robinson.
And that's all she can think of that would interest anyone. Carla Kelly is quite ordinary, except when she is sometimes prevailed upon to sing a scurrilous song about lumberjacks, or warble "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Latin. Then you m
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 30, 2014
Delightful!
January 15, 2025
Speaking as someone who read Georgette Heyer for decades before ever picking up another Regency, “Homespun Regency” seems something of an oxymoron. Regency stories are more Heyer than Jane Austen; the heroes tend to be nobility and the heroines tend to dress in fine clothes and go to a lot of extravagant, formal parties. Then again, Heyer wrote that wonderful family chronicle, Frederica, and children and family are crucial to a homespun Christmas feel, so I figured it could be done.
A bigger problem is that Christmas in the Regency doesn’t seem to have been the family holiday we think of today, and lacked many of the current traditions, but most Regency authors ignore this fact. And the ones that try to be more historically accurate focus on traditions that most closely resemble our own and can often make it work.
The first story, “An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly, does a fair job of living up to the Homespun part of the anthology title. Kelly stories tend to have a homey, down-to-earth feel to them anyhow -- she's one of the few regency authors who regularly presents main characters who are solidly middle class -- and this one includes making dolls as gifts for children, but it’s not exactly a homespun family Christmas. Unless your idea of homespun includes family squabbles and sullen bitterness. Which are mostly in the past, admittedly, but they don't exactly add a Christmass-y ambiance.
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jenson is more silly than anything. If threadbare, decaying riches and wistful memories about their glory days are your idea of homespun, this story has them in spades. I think of “homespun” as warm and cosy and simple myself, which this house is not. The characters are nice, though.
I think I liked Sandra Heath’s “Mistletoe and Folly” about the best as a story, but it is neither Christmassy nor Homespun. It is set in London during the Christmas season among the isolated rich (and apparently rich), with no family scenes or joyous celebrations. This is another one where the Christmas is in the melancholy. But it is a tight little tale of tragedies and inevitabilities and justice and it worked for me.
Amanda McCabe’s “Once Upon a Midnight Clear” is truly homespun, at least so far as the heroine’s home is described. And many of the couple’s activities have a more homespun feel to them than grand parties in London. The traditional Christmas aspect is a bit muted by another tradition, however; the heroine is not anti-Christian but her beliefs blend Christianity with something else. I don’t expect a Christmas story to be outright Christian, but if religion is introduced to a Christmas story, that’s the one I want. Although I will put up with “Yule magic” in a Regency, so whatever.
I wouldn’t say any of these stories were full of the Christmas spirit, and only two of them come anywhere near to homespun. McCabe’s story of two long-time outsiders finding each other is probably the most heartwarming for me, and is perhaps the best representative of the collection's title overall.
A bigger problem is that Christmas in the Regency doesn’t seem to have been the family holiday we think of today, and lacked many of the current traditions, but most Regency authors ignore this fact. And the ones that try to be more historically accurate focus on traditions that most closely resemble our own and can often make it work.
The first story, “An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly, does a fair job of living up to the Homespun part of the anthology title. Kelly stories tend to have a homey, down-to-earth feel to them anyhow -- she's one of the few regency authors who regularly presents main characters who are solidly middle class -- and this one includes making dolls as gifts for children, but it’s not exactly a homespun family Christmas. Unless your idea of homespun includes family squabbles and sullen bitterness. Which are mostly in the past, admittedly, but they don't exactly add a Christmass-y ambiance.
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jenson is more silly than anything. If threadbare, decaying riches and wistful memories about their glory days are your idea of homespun, this story has them in spades. I think of “homespun” as warm and cosy and simple myself, which this house is not. The characters are nice, though.
I think I liked Sandra Heath’s “Mistletoe and Folly” about the best as a story, but it is neither Christmassy nor Homespun. It is set in London during the Christmas season among the isolated rich (and apparently rich), with no family scenes or joyous celebrations. This is another one where the Christmas is in the melancholy. But it is a tight little tale of tragedies and inevitabilities and justice and it worked for me.
Amanda McCabe’s “Once Upon a Midnight Clear” is truly homespun, at least so far as the heroine’s home is described. And many of the couple’s activities have a more homespun feel to them than grand parties in London. The traditional Christmas aspect is a bit muted by another tradition, however; the heroine is not anti-Christian but her beliefs blend Christianity with something else. I don’t expect a Christmas story to be outright Christian, but if religion is introduced to a Christmas story, that’s the one I want. Although I will put up with “Yule magic” in a Regency, so whatever.
I wouldn’t say any of these stories were full of the Christmas spirit, and only two of them come anywhere near to homespun. McCabe’s story of two long-time outsiders finding each other is probably the most heartwarming for me, and is perhaps the best representative of the collection's title overall.
December 27, 2023
Four romances set in Regency England celebrate the Holiday season. Carla Kelly presents Captain Lynch with a young woman and her teenage brother, wards of his deceased First Mate. The responsibility forces him to take a hard look at his past and make some changes that will effect his future. A favorite author and a great story. Emma Jensen tells of a penniless woman being forced from her home when her cousin, the new heir, sells her dilapidated home. She has a short time around Christmas to convince the new buyer’s man to change his mind. Another good story. Sandra Heath’s story focuses on a couple who parted ways 5 years prior when she married another. Now they have a second chance to correct misunderstandings. OK story. And lastly, Amanda McCabe brings together a physically and emotionally scarred sea captain and a West Indian woman who has a touch of magic and a wish for his happiness. Another OK story.
January 10, 2018
Fave genre, fave season, a fave author or two, and one of my fave words "anthology" of short stories.
I read it when it was first released and as I am trying to buy all my old faves again...found on net and re-read.
Sweet, calming, Christmas! We need more short happy tales. I know the industry doesn't "like too many short stories" but I believe they are great ways to introduce new authors. Ya throw in a couple known selling writers with one or two new...seller! Just a thought.
I read it when it was first released and as I am trying to buy all my old faves again...found on net and re-read.
Sweet, calming, Christmas! We need more short happy tales. I know the industry doesn't "like too many short stories" but I believe they are great ways to introduce new authors. Ya throw in a couple known selling writers with one or two new...seller! Just a thought.
June 26, 2017
I love regency stories because of
*the language
*the morals
*the era
I picked out this book because a friend told me she was a fan of Carla Kelly. I picked out this book at the library and found it super adorable.
Numbers 1 and 4 were my favorites.
*the language
*the morals
*the era
I picked out this book because a friend told me she was a fan of Carla Kelly. I picked out this book at the library and found it super adorable.
Numbers 1 and 4 were my favorites.
December 29, 2020
An Object of Charity (Carla Kelly) - I usually like her stories, but this one was just blah.
Wexford Carol - rather silly. The house is falling down, but she wants to keep it purely for sentimental reasons. He is gruff. She acts very silly.
Mistletoe and Folly - This was better. More interesting.
Upon a Midnight Clear - This was a DNF. At the point she goes out to conjure spirits, I was done.
No interest in ever reading this book again.
Wexford Carol - rather silly. The house is falling down, but she wants to keep it purely for sentimental reasons. He is gruff. She acts very silly.
Mistletoe and Folly - This was better. More interesting.
Upon a Midnight Clear - This was a DNF. At the point she goes out to conjure spirits, I was done.
No interest in ever reading this book again.
January 20, 2010
It is a sad thing when one starts a new anthology thinking it will be full of new stories and then realises you've read them all. It was nice to revisit them but I would have preferred new ones.
The Wexford Carol - Emma Jensen
This one was a really nice story about a woman who is trying to keep her ancestral home in order and good repair despite the fact that it has been sold by the cousin who inherited it and the man sent by the new owner to oversee the property. Some funny secondary characters helped keeping this a light story. Grade: 4/5
Mistletoe and Folly - Sandra Heath
A pair of young lovers meets again after 5 years. The hero had his heart broken by the heroine when she left to marry another and now that they meet again he is engaged to be married. A rival for the affections of his current fiancee creates a misunderstanding to have their engagement broken which leads to an explanation of what really happened 5 years earlier. I liked this story, it had an unusual plot, a bit more mystery than you usually find here and an unexpected ending for some of the secondary characters. A 4/5.
An Object of Charity - Carla Kelly
Captain Lynch unexpectedly finds himself taking charge of his dead first mate niece and nephew. He plans to return home to visit the mother and brother he hasn't speak with in 20 years and develops a fondness the Sally Partlow, the mentioned niece. I found this the best story of the book mainly due to the hero who was wonderful. I have two complaints though, Sally is at first shown as a very young girl when she is in fact 25 years old and as in all of my previous Kelly reads I wanted a bit more emotion. Grade: 4/5
Amanda McCabe - Upon a Midnight Clear
This story has an original heroine, a Jamaican girl who makes soaps and perfumes. She has come to England to accompany a childhood friend. Then she meets a British naval officer who thinks he is unworthy of love because of his scars and they fall in love with each other. Grade: 3.5/5
Anthology grade: 4/5
The Wexford Carol - Emma Jensen
This one was a really nice story about a woman who is trying to keep her ancestral home in order and good repair despite the fact that it has been sold by the cousin who inherited it and the man sent by the new owner to oversee the property. Some funny secondary characters helped keeping this a light story. Grade: 4/5
Mistletoe and Folly - Sandra Heath
A pair of young lovers meets again after 5 years. The hero had his heart broken by the heroine when she left to marry another and now that they meet again he is engaged to be married. A rival for the affections of his current fiancee creates a misunderstanding to have their engagement broken which leads to an explanation of what really happened 5 years earlier. I liked this story, it had an unusual plot, a bit more mystery than you usually find here and an unexpected ending for some of the secondary characters. A 4/5.
An Object of Charity - Carla Kelly
Captain Lynch unexpectedly finds himself taking charge of his dead first mate niece and nephew. He plans to return home to visit the mother and brother he hasn't speak with in 20 years and develops a fondness the Sally Partlow, the mentioned niece. I found this the best story of the book mainly due to the hero who was wonderful. I have two complaints though, Sally is at first shown as a very young girl when she is in fact 25 years old and as in all of my previous Kelly reads I wanted a bit more emotion. Grade: 4/5
Amanda McCabe - Upon a Midnight Clear
This story has an original heroine, a Jamaican girl who makes soaps and perfumes. She has come to England to accompany a childhood friend. Then she meets a British naval officer who thinks he is unworthy of love because of his scars and they fall in love with each other. Grade: 3.5/5
Anthology grade: 4/5
February 16, 2017
Loved the second story, really liked two others, and one was more iffy for me. I appreciated the depth of character development in all of them even though they are novellas - that's so hard to find in books of this length. I just wasn't so crazy about the mysticism occurring in the last story.
December 17, 2016
I would like to give this book more than a 3, but a 4 would be too high.
"An Object of Charity" comes from Carla Kelly. Michael Lynch is a complicated character, who acts unselfishly. There are lots of twists and turns before the hero and heroine can find their HEA.
Emma Jensen is the author of "The Wexford Carol." Lord Rhys pretends to be a simple "mister," in order to learn more of the true nature of Elizabeth Fitzhollis.
"Mistletoe and Holly" is from Sandra Heath. Former lovers have a hard row to come together once again. The story uses multiple points of view, which are distracting. I also wondered why Isabel goes about in society without a chaperone. Moreover, she rides in a closed carriage with Geoffrey. I did not think either would be accepted in the Regency period.
"Once Upon a Midnight Clear" is by Amanda McCabe. I liked the concept of a freed slave's daughter as the heroine. However, I was hoping not to stereotype her with voodoo type actions. Her placing a spell upon Captain Mark Payne to cure him of his loneliness was hard to swallow.
"An Object of Charity" comes from Carla Kelly. Michael Lynch is a complicated character, who acts unselfishly. There are lots of twists and turns before the hero and heroine can find their HEA.
Emma Jensen is the author of "The Wexford Carol." Lord Rhys pretends to be a simple "mister," in order to learn more of the true nature of Elizabeth Fitzhollis.
"Mistletoe and Holly" is from Sandra Heath. Former lovers have a hard row to come together once again. The story uses multiple points of view, which are distracting. I also wondered why Isabel goes about in society without a chaperone. Moreover, she rides in a closed carriage with Geoffrey. I did not think either would be accepted in the Regency period.
"Once Upon a Midnight Clear" is by Amanda McCabe. I liked the concept of a freed slave's daughter as the heroine. However, I was hoping not to stereotype her with voodoo type actions. Her placing a spell upon Captain Mark Payne to cure him of his loneliness was hard to swallow.
March 31, 2015
Reviews of each short story:
“An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly
It was a nice story, a bit preachy and not in the right way. The writing style was hard to get used to, as thoughts were not kept separate from speech, or not well enough that I could follow it without having to re-read.
I really liked Michael and Sally, liked everyone really, except Oliver. No one needs a brother like that.
Stars for this SS: 3 stars
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jensen
Splendid, charming and perfectly written.
Star rating: 5
“Mistletoe and Folly” and Sandra Heath
I found this novella silly and contrite, not a likeable character in the bunch. ..unless you count Mary
Stars : 2 and those are for Mary
“Upon a Midnight Clear” by Amanda McCabe
Kind of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a unique twist. ..Beauty is just as much an outsider as the Beast
Stars: 4
“An Object of Charity” by Carla Kelly
It was a nice story, a bit preachy and not in the right way. The writing style was hard to get used to, as thoughts were not kept separate from speech, or not well enough that I could follow it without having to re-read.
I really liked Michael and Sally, liked everyone really, except Oliver. No one needs a brother like that.
Stars for this SS: 3 stars
“The Wexford Carol” by Emma Jensen
Splendid, charming and perfectly written.
Star rating: 5
“Mistletoe and Folly” and Sandra Heath
I found this novella silly and contrite, not a likeable character in the bunch. ..unless you count Mary
Stars : 2 and those are for Mary
“Upon a Midnight Clear” by Amanda McCabe
Kind of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with a unique twist. ..Beauty is just as much an outsider as the Beast
Stars: 4
December 12, 2008
A Homespun Regency Christmas is an anthology. I was hesitant to pick it up since I was burned* by the last anthology that I read. I really wanted to get in the Christmas spirit and hadn't been disappointed by a Signet Regency yet, so I bit the bullet. I STILL haven't been disappointed. =) Each story is around 70 pages. I'll review them in the order they appear in the book.
To read my full review, please visit my blog.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/623m59
To read my full review, please visit my blog.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/623m59
August 5, 2016
I read the first three stories - they were ok. Decent holiday romances, but short & shallow (as usual for anthology). No real emotion, no real intimacy.... nothing exciting. I had no interest in continuing with the fourth story.
December 27, 2008
The first two stories were great. The third was the weakest. These are reprints from earlier Christmas anthologies.
January 13, 2009
I don't normally enjoy the short stories. Some were OK but the last one was about an older couple I didn't relate.
Want to read
December 10, 2009I couldn't resist some feel-good Christmas reading, even though I am in the midst of reading Dickens and some other pretty good lit. I'll let you know how these stories turn out.
March 1, 2014
Read this twice so far that I can find
November 15, 2015
Did not finish.
December 5, 2023
An Object of Charity is contained in Carla Kelly’s Christmas Collection
December 3, 2009
arrrrgh, reprints
Read
January 9, 2010Amazon preorder
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews