The Christmas Angel

by Abbie Farwell Brown

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Genres: Christmas, Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Holiday, Audiobook, Ebooks

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1910

About the author

Abbie Farwell Brown was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 21, 1871. Her family resided in New England for ten generations, and Brown spent her entire life living in the family's home. She was the oldest of two children. Her sister, Clara, was also part of the literary world; she became an author and illustrator, using the pen name of Ann Underhill.

In 1886, Brown received the honor of valedictorian of the Bowdoin School. When she went on to the Girls' Latin School, she was one of the founders of the school newspaper, The Jabberwock. Still being published by the school, it is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States. From Girls' Latin School, Brown went to Radcliff College in 1891.

It was during her time at Girls' Latin School that Brown began contributing her writing pieces to magazines, launching her career. In 1900 she published her first children's book, The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts. In addition to stories, Brown also produced poetry for children. Her poetry for adults was not as successful. Writing song lyrics was also part of her accomplishments. The official song of the Girl Scouts of the USA, "On the Trail," was written in part by Brown.

Literary life was important to Brown, and she became a member of various literary clubs and did editing work.

Brown passed away on March 5, 1927 from cancer. She was 55 years old.

from https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poe...

Reviews

[Elsa Rajan Pradhananga · Rating 3 out of 5]

A long time ago around this time of the year, Christmas spirit meant a lot more than beating each other at shopping for thoughtful Christmas gifts. This book felt like a call from the past to remind readers of compassion, repentance, forgiveness, hope and love.

On Christmas Eve, when Miss Terry concluded after a few tests of chance that nobody was good anymore and that Christmas spirit was unreal, an angel had to appear before her to convince her that she shouldn't judge too soon as there’s a lot beyond what one can see and managed to stir new impulses within her. By Christmas day, Miss Terry wasn't a lonely grumpy woman anymore.

The prose isn't as lyrical as A Christmas Carol but The Christmas Angel too is about visions, redemption on Christmas Eve and finding joy in giving.

[Sterlingcindysu · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a fresh take on Dickens A Christmas Carol, try this little story from 1910. Available for free for Kindle from Amazon.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute short story to get me in a holiday mood.

Miss Terry is a scrooge on Christmas Eve. She doesn't have any holiday cheer and when she comes across some of her childhood toys, she decides to prove that there's no Christmas spirit. She puts her toys on the sidewalk to see what happens to them. At first, the things she sees seem to prove her theory, but then she's visited by a Christmas angel who shows her the whole story.

This is a bit similar to A Christmas Carol, in that it shows how one small action can have a large effect. I liked seeing happy children and families and I'm glad I checked this out.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Angelina Terry was a woman with no time for nonsense, which she expansively defined to include everything from forgiveness for her estranged brother to indulging in the joy of the holidays. "Fiddlestick!" was invariably her response. Sorting through a chest containing the toys and holiday decorations of her youth one Christmas season, Miss Terry hit upon the perfect way of demonstrating just how ridiculous the idea of "Christmas Spirit" was. Leaving each of the toys out on the street, she watched as they were either stolen or destroyed, one by one, confirmed in her disdain for her fellow human beings. But then something unexpected occurred: falling asleep before the fire, Miss Terry was visited by the Christmas Angel, who showed her what really happened with each of those toys, once she stopped watching. Humbled by this glimpse into the true hearts and lives of her fellows, she opened herself up to the best impulses that Christmas brings, and was amply rewarded...

Originally published in 1910, Abbie Farwell Brown's The Christmas Angel was described by reviewers of its day as being akin to Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol , and it's not difficult to see why. In both stories, a curmudgeonly anti-Christmas individual is converted to a better way of life, and a better appreciation for the meaning of the holiday, through the intervention of a supernatural force, be it ghosts or angels. Brown's tale is somewhat more sentimental, and not nearly as gripping as Dickens', but is a pleasing little Christmas confection all the same. Some of the developments are quite unrealistic - the concluding adoption of little Mary, for instance - but others, such as the rapprochement between Miss Terry and her brother, feel entirely appropriate and fitting. I was particularly struck, during my reading, by the sub-plot involving the two little Jewish boys who take the Jack-in-the-Box, and quarrel over it, before eventually deciding to give it to a little Christian boy they know who is bed-ridden. Brown's depiction of the two boys, who are shown to have the Christmas Spirit - or something akin to it - but who are allowed to remain just what they are (there is no effort at conversion, in other words), impressed me. I was also struck by the sub-plot involving the drunken Irishman who, after impiously kicking the Christmas Angel, is shown to have a moment of awakening. This is one of two plot elements - the other being the abusive character of Mary's drunken aunt and uncle - with a strong temperance theme.

All in all, this was an entertaining little Christmas tale, one I would recommend to anyone looking for sweet, old-fashioned holiday tales to enjoy during the season.

[Cleo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of A Christmas Carol, this is a lovely story of a disillusioned old woman who rediscovers that the Christmas Spirit can be found in many guises, and can work in many ways for good.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nice Christmas story, from times gone by. I like to find new Christmas stories to read to my daughter every year at Christmas time and this one fit the bill. The ending would never happen, or be allowed to happen, in today's world, but it was still a sweet story with a nice message about the spirit of Christmas.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Christmas Angel is a 1910 novel written by Abbie Farwell Brown. And no, I had no idea who Abbie Farwell Brown was before I read this book. More of a story than a book I would say. Brown was an American author from Boston, Massachusetts. Her sister Ethel became an author and illustrator under the name Ann Underhill, I never heard of her either, by either name. Her family, for ten generations, had only resided in New England, and Brown herself spent her entire life in her family's Beacon Hill home, I've lived in the same small town all my life and felt a little strange doing that, but I didn't live the same house, the house I grew up in is out on Main Street, I'm back a few streets, I can see it though from the upstairs window.

Anyway, it seems like when Brown wasn't at home she was spending most of her time in school. More than one that is. She attended the Bowdoin School where she was valedictorian in 1886. I've often thought I could have been valedictorian of my class if I would have been home schooled. I also would have been prom queen and the most popular girl in the class. She then attended the Girl's Latin School - sounds boring - and after graduating from there she attended Radcliffe College, graduating in 1894. I think she must have run out of close to home schools by then. Now she starts writing. Her first children's book was The Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, a rather unusual title, and seemed to write mostly children's books after that, although she did write poetry and song lyrics. And out of all this stuff she wrote a book called The Christmas Angel which is the one I read and had a wonderful time reading it.

The book begins with Miss Terry sitting alone in her library, it seems she spends a lot of time alone in her library, reading a letter from her brother. Miss Terry is the female version of Ebeneezer Scrooge, at least that's who she reminds me of, probably why I like her so much. In the letter her brother asked if he could come and see her, this is her answer:

At the sound of footsteps along the hall Miss Terry looked up from the letter which she was reading for the sixth time. "Of course I would not see him," she said, pursing her lips into a hard line. "Certainly not!"

A bump on the library door, as from an opposing knee, did duty for a knock.

"Bring the box in here, Norah," said Miss Terry, holding open the door for her servant, who was gasping under the weight of a packing-case. "Set it down on the rug by the fire-place. I am going to look it over and burn up the rubbish this evening."

She glanced once more at the letter in her hand, then with a sniff tossed it upon the fire.

Miss Terry has no intention of seeing her brother. It seems the only person she ever does see is Norah and that's because Norah is her only maid. But now it is Christmas Eve and Norah would like to go out to see the decorations and hear the singing. And what does Miss Terry think?

"Decorations? Singing? Fiddlestick!" retorted Miss Terry, poker in hand. "What decorations? What singing?"

"Why, all the windows along the street are full of candles," answered Norah; "rows of candles in every house, to light the Christ Child on his way when he comes through the city to-night."

"Fiddlestick!" again snarled her mistress.

"And choir-boys are going about the streets, they say, singing carols in front of the lighted houses," continued Norah enthusiastically. "It must sound so pretty!"

"They had much better be at home in bed. I believe people are losing their minds!"

"Please'm, may I go?" asked Norah again.

Norah had no puritanic traditions to her account. Moreover she was young and warm and enthusiastic. Sometimes the spell of Miss Terry's sombre house threatened her to the point of desperation. It was so this Christmas Eve; but she made her request with apparent calmness.

"Yes, go along," assented her mistress ungraciously.

Before Norah goes though she picks up something which had fallen out of the case when the cover was jarred open. It is a pink angel, the kind often put on the top of Christmas trees. Miss Terry on seeing it says it is "The Christmas Angel", and she had forgotten all about it. She puts the angel back in the box and Norah leaves for her evening of Christmas Carols. And now Miss Terry is all alone on Christmas Eve, her and the Christmas Angel anyway. And here is where I start thinking that Scrooge must have had another sister out there:

She sat back in her chair, with thin, long hands lying along the arms of it, gazing into the fire. A bit of paper there was crumbling into ashes. Alone on Christmas Eve! Even Norah had some relation with the world outside. Was there not a stalwart officer waiting for her on the nearest corner? Even Norah could feel a simple childish pleasure in candles and carols and merriment, and the old, old superstition.

"Stuff and nonsense!" mused Miss Terry scornfully. "What is our Christmas, anyway? A time for shopkeepers to sell and for foolish folks to kill themselves in buying. Christmas spirit? No! It is all humbug,—all selfishness, and worry; an unwholesome season of unnatural activities. I am glad I am out of it. I am glad no one expects anything of me,—nor I of any one. I am quite independent; blessedly independent of the whole foolish business. It is a good time to begin clearing up for the new year. I'm glad I thought of it. I've long threatened to get rid of the stuff that has been accumulating in that corner of the attic. Now I will begin."

Scrooge couldn't have said it much better. Now she begins going through her old case, cleaning out all the old memories. The box is full of children's battered toys, toys that were new fifty years earlier. But she doesn't care, she just wants to get rid of them.

"What rubbish!" she said. "Yes, I'll burn them all. They are good for nothing else. I suppose some folks would try to give them away, and bore a lot of people to death. They seem to think they are saving something, that way. Nonsense! I know better. It is all foolishness, this craze for giving. Most things are better destroyed as soon as you are done with them. Why, nobody wants such truck as this. Now, could any child ever have cared for so silly a thing?" She pulled out a faded jumping-jack, and regarded it scornfully. "Idiotic! Such toys are demoralizing for children—weaken their minds. It is a shame to think how every one seems bound to spoil children, especially at Christmas time. Well, no one can say that I have added to the shameful waste."

Miss Terry tossed the poor jumping-jack on the fire, and eyed his last contortions with grim satisfaction. But as she watched, a quaint idea came to her. She was famous for eccentric ideas.

"I will try an experiment," she said. "I will prove once for all my point about the 'Christmas spirit.' I will drop some of these old toys out on the sidewalk and see what happens. It may be interesting."

And that's what she does. She puts her old toys out on the sidewalk one by one to prove there is no Christmas spirit out there.

The first toy is a Jack-in-the-box, I hated those things, she put it in the middle of the sidewalk, turned the lights down in the room, hid in the folds of the curtain and watched to see what would happen. The first experiment doesn't seem to end well as two boys come up to the toy:

"Hello! Wot's dis?" he grunted, making a dash upon it.

"Gee! Wot's up?" responded the other, who was instantly at his elbow.

"Gwan! Lemme look at it."

The smaller boy drew away and pressed the spring of the box eagerly. Ping! Out popped the Jack into his astonished face; whereupon he set up a guffaw.

"Give it here!" commanded the bigger boy.

"Naw! You let it alone! It's mine!" asserted the other, edging away along the curbstone. "I saw it first. You can't have it."

"Give it here. I saw it first myself. Hand it over, or I'll smash you!"

The bigger boy advanced threateningly.

"I won't!" the other whimpered, clasping the box tightly under his jacket.

He started to run, but the bigger fellow was too quick for him. He pounced across the sidewalk, and soon the twain were struggling in the snowdrift, pummeling one another with might and main.

"I told you so!" commented Miss Terry from behind the curtain. "Here's the first show of the beautiful Christmas spirit that is supposed to be abroad. Look at the little beasts fighting over something that neither of them really wants!"

She has been proved right, there is no Christmas spirit, but she puts the next toy out just to see what happens again. This time it is a stuffed dog made of flannel, dirty, discolored, without a tail, but she puts him out anyway:

Hardly had Miss Terry time to conceal herself behind the curtain when she saw a figure approaching, airily waving a stick.

"No ragamuffin this time," she said. "Hello! It is that good-for-nothing young Cooper fellow from the next block. They say he is a millionaire. Well, he isn't even going to see the Flanton Dog."

The young man came swinging along, debonairly; he was whistling under his breath. He was a dapper figure in a long coat and a silk hat, under which the candles lighted a rather silly face. When he reached the spot in the sidewalk where the Flanton Dog lay, he paused a moment looking down. Then he poked the object with his stick. On the other side of the street a mother and her little boy were passing at the time. The child's eyes caught sight of the dog on the sidewalk, and he hung back, watching to see what the young man would do to it. But his mother drew him after her. Just then an automobile came panting through the snow. With a quick movement Cooper picked up the dog on the end of his stick and tossed it into the street, under the wheels of the machine. The baby across the street uttered a howl of anguish at the sight. Miss Terry herself was surprised to feel a pang shoot through her as the car passed over the queer old toy. She retreated from the window quickly.

"Well, that's the end of Flanton," she said with half a sigh. "I knew that fellow was a brute. I might have expected something like that. But it looked so—so—" She hesitated for a word, and did not finish her sentence, but bit her lip and sniffed cynically.

This goes on for awhile yet, there is a Noah's Ark and an old doll with the name Miranda. Each experiment ends the same way the first two did, there is no Christmas spirit, her experiment is over:

With something like a sigh Miss Terry strode back to the fire, where the play box stood gaping. She had made but a small inroad upon its heaped-up treasures. She threw herself listlessly into the chair and began to pull over the things. Broken games and animals, dolls' dresses painfully tailored by unskilled fingers, disjointed members,—sorry relics of past pleasures,—one by one Miss Terry seized them between disdainful thumb and finger and tossed them into the fire. Her face showed not a qualm at parting with these childhood treasures; only the stern sense of a good housekeeper's duty fulfilled. With queer contortions the bits writhed on the coals, and finally flared into dissolution, vanishing up chimney in a shower of sparks to the heaven of spent toys.

So it's all gone, every single toy and Miss Terry can go on with her lonely, sad life. But then..............

Almost at the bottom of the box Miss Terry's fingers closed about a small object. Once more she drew out the papier-mâché Angel which had so excited the wonder of Norah when once before that evening it had come to light.

Miss Terry held it up and looked at it with the same expression on her face, half tender, half contemptuous. "The Christmas Angel!" she murmured involuntarily, as she had done before. And again there flashed through her mind a vivid picture.

It was the day before Christmas, fifty years earlier. She and her brother Tom were trimming the Christmas tree in this very library. She saw Tom, in a white piqué suit with short socks that were always slipping down his fat legs. She saw herself in a white dress and blue ribbons, pouting in a corner. They had been quarreling about the Christmas tree, disputing as to which of them should light the first candle when the time arrived. Then their mother came to them smiling, a sweet-faced lady who seemed not to notice the red faces and the tears. She put something into Tom's hand saying, "This is the Christmas Angel of peace and good-will. Hang it on the tree, children, so that it may shed a blessing on all who come here to give and to receive."

She can't burn the Christmas Angel, she can't even let it out on the sidewalk, "Well, I won't burn it to-night," she reflected. "Somehow, I can't do it just now. I don't see what has got into me! But to-morrow I will. Yes, to-morrow I will."

But now Miss Terry is tired, so she sits back and closes her eyes until......

Miss Terry passed her hands over her eyes and glanced at the clock. But what the hour was she never noticed, for her gaze was filled with something else. Beside the clock, in the spot where she had laid it a few minutes before, was the Christmas Angel. But now, instead of lying helplessly on its back, it was standing on rosy feet, with arms outstretched toward her. Over its head fluttered gauzy wings. From under the yellow hair which rippled over the shoulders two blue eyes beamed kindly upon her, and the mouth widened into the sweetest smile.

"Peace on earth to men of good-will!" cried the Angel, and the tone of his speech was music, yet quite natural and thrilling.

Miss Terry stared hard at the Angel and rubbed her eyes, saying to herself, "Fiddlestick! I am dreaming!"

But she could not rub away the vision. When she opened her eyes the Angel still stood tiptoe on the mantel-shelf, smiling at her and shaking his golden head.

"Angelina!" said the Angel softly; and Miss Terry trembled to hear her name thus spoken for the first time in years. "Angelina, you do not want to believe your own eyes, do you? But I am real; more real than the things you see every day. You must believe in me. I am the Christmas Angel."

"I know it." Miss Terry's voice was hoarse and unmanageable, as of one in a nightmare. "I remember."

"You remember!" repeated the Angel. "Yes; you remember the day when you and Tom hung me on the Christmas tree. You were a sweet little girl then, with blue eyes and yellow curls. You believed the Christmas story and loved Santa Claus. Then you were simple and affectionate and generous and happy."

"Fiddlestick!" Miss Terry tried to say. But the word would not come.

Fiddlestick, Humbug, what is the difference? And now this angel is going to try to show Miss Terry the true Christmas spirit. This time it isn't three ghosts, it's one angel. Whether she does or not you'll have to find out for yourself. After writing all this I can't wait to go read the story again, it's short it won't take long, besides, Christmas is only 349 days away. Happy reading.

[Unsolved ☕︎ Mystery · Rating 4 out of 5]

An older lady. A suitcase of old toys. Lessons in life.

This reminded me a lot of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Anyone who has read and loved A Christmas Carol should read this one.

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy this was to follow and understand. I tend to stay away from "classics" because they intimidate me.
This was a good read.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old-fashioned tale of an old woman who has given up on Christmas, throws her old toys in the street, and what happens to them.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the same vein as 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens, this story is about a grumpy old lady who has lost her Christmas spirit. In an experiment to prove there is no such thing, she throws each of her childhood toys out onto the street on the eve of Christmas and keeps watch to see what happens to them. Each chapter is the fate of each toy, told by the angel the lady used to put on top of her Christmas tree. It's short, sweet, and extremely christmassy. Good to get you in the Christmas spirit.

3.5 stars

[Tatevik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christmas Carol's another version. Sweet story for winter mood.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty good Christmas story about a woman who throws out toys she don't want anymore and what happens when people discover them all thanks to a Christmas angel. I found this for free on project Gutenberg.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic holiday story, with many similarities to Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Published in 1910, The Christmas Angel is written in an older style than what we may be used to reading today, but still has applicable lessons for us to glean.

The plot begins with Miss Terry, a scrooge-type character, thinking that no one believes in the true Christmas spirit anymore. To prove her point, she performs a series of experiments, only to see the ill intentions of others.

What takes place next is remarkable. Her Christmas tree angel from childhood comes to life, and he takes Miss Terry on a journey -- not unlike the heart-changing journey that Ebenezer Scrooge went on himself. Perhaps she can find peace on earth and goodwill in people's hearts once again.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as a Christmas read. While it didn't turn out to be a favorite, I'm glad to have happened across it.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty straightforward holiday story; woman who has given in to doubt and the assumption everyone is inherently bad decides to "test" her theory about people by leaving old toys outside her house, then spies to see what—at first glance—appears to be a string of awful people and awful fates for said toys. Then the tree-angel she almost burns appears to her and shows her the rest of what happened after she turned away from each "test" and she learns people can be good, indeed. And... she also decides to adopt a child from an abusive home, just to really drive home the whole "Christmas is about taking people in" message that one extra step. It's more than a bit dated, but enjoyed for what it is, is kind of a quaint glimpse into the "what if Scrooge, but different?" that seems to have popped up in a lot of Christmas stories over the years.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a free book I picked out from audible. A rich lady and her maid are together in the first chapter. The lady is a grouch, and the maid is asking for time off to see the Christmas candles, and hear the caroling. the maid pulls out a box of old toys with an angel. The lady wants to burn all of it. After the maid leaves, the woman decided to throw out toys for a test, to see what people will do with them. At her first viewing of people, she decides all of the people are behaving in bad ways. Later the angel shows the woman what happened later on. The woman's behavior starts to change, and good things begin to happen.

[Rachel Mantas]

Very lovely book. A little twist, with a little more heart on the Christmas Carol tale.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Retelling of A Christmas Carol. Sweet, old fashioned story.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story and very enjoyable to read.

[Mie Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5* Wholesome Old School Christmas tale, not unlike Dickens "A Christmas Carol," witch I do prefere over this one. But worth a read/listen.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this quick, easy holiday read that takes place in a time long gone.

Much like other reviewers' opinions, this has the feel of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", albeit on a much smaller, shorter scale.

An old spinster woman decides she is ridding herself of all things Christmas in an old box of toys. While doing so, she "tests" the height of others' Christmas spirit as they pass by her home. While the ending would not and could not possibly happen in today's society, the story is a good one and I enjoyed it immensely.

This was a free download and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick holiday read that reminds you that the Christmas spirit should never be outgrown.

[Lillie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An American retelling of A Christmas Carol, with an old maid the Scrooge of this story. Although the story was written over a hundred years ago, it could happen today. It's a heartwarming Christmas story, but beyond that, it's a good lesson in why bad things happen to good people. Miss Terry threw her old toys out in the street one by one and saw kids fighting over them and adults damage them. She thought everything was bad, but when the angel let her see the full picture of what happened, she realized things aren't always the way they look.

[Darlene Ferland]

Avery different Christmas story. Blending history with traditions and family, Ms. Brown adds depth to her work. You won't see Santa and excess. You will find the fullness of her characters outstanding and you will keep turning those pages until it's done!

[Gladinell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was good at the beginning but for me the ending was a little off!!

[Marysya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice and delightful Christmas story, kind of a retelling of A Christmas Carol

[Nadine Keels · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You are so unimaginative!... You judge the tale finished while the best has yet to be told."

Those are two of my favorite lines from the classic, Christmas-Carol-esque tale The Christmas Angel by author Abbie Farwell Brown. Here we find a bitter, lonely old woman occupying herself on Christmas Eve with earnest tasks: burning toys in her fireplace and conducting covert little experiments on the public to prove to herself that the Christmas spirit is a humbug.

Oh, I didn't eat it up quite like the Dickens classic this fantastical work resembles in different ways, but I still found it worth the time. I got a little nervous at the appearance of two Jewish boys in the story, wondering how the author would handle them in this tale from 1910—and a Christmas tale at that. But I breathed easier after while. What's more, my heart nodded in agreement with one character's sentiments about people who supposedly know so much better than others and wind up miserable.

This old-fashioned read is a fairy tale, but its messages ring true, and not just for Christmas.

[Nancy Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

(More like two and a half stars.) This is a short book written in the early 20th Century. It's a story similar to Dickens' Christmas Carol. I have to admit that I struggled with an ethnic slur at the beginning of the story which interfered with my enjoyment of the remainder. It bothers me to admit that, because I'm one of the first to say we can't judge actions or words that were part of the culture at the time compared to our own time, but this one really did bother me because I felt it was an unnecessary reflection of the author's prejudices. That said, I still gave it three stars because the story is basically a good one. I apologize for being so ambivalent. I doubt many people will read this nowadays anyway, as it is not very well known or available. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it......

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Christmas Eve, Miss Angelina Terry recalls her childhood with her estranged brother Tom. She would like him to come for Christmas, although she wouldn't admit that to anyone. When her servant Norah brings in a packing case full of Miss Terry and Tom's old toys, she decides to distribute them on the pavement outside her home to prove that Christmas Spirit is a humbug, but on this Holy night, maybe she will be convinced that there is more good in the world than she imagines.

This book is pretty much a retelling of A Christmas Carol (my favourite book), but without the ghosts. It's a sweet story about the 'elderly' Miss Terry (this was written in 1910, so she's probably in her late 40s!). It's only a novella really, and obviously quite dated, but still worth a read, and it's in the public domain so is easy to find a free version to read online.

[Ashley Jacobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Audible because it was free. It started out a little slower, but I really enjoyed it in the end. It's a bit of a twist on The Christmas Carol. A woman doesn't really believe in the Christmas spirit and tests strangers to see if they will be kind of selfish. She believes she is seeing selfishness over and over again, but then we see the real story once we get the inside details, shown to us (and the woman) by the Christmas Angel who seemingly comes to life and takes the woman on a journey similar to the one Scrooge goes on with the ghosts. I liked the ending, which involved reunions and new friends and answers, as well as a change of heart for the woman, who begins to feel the spirit of Christmas after all. I would read (or listen to) this one again in future years.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Christmas Angel” is good short story for those who are not filled with joy around Christmas. Everyone is supposed to be holly and jolly, but the reality is some people may have lost a loved one, are struggling with health, are struggling with finances, etc. This story is a good reminder of the importance of the Christmas spirit and how vitally important a small amount of kindness can affect other people – especially a young child.

If you enjoyed Charles Dickens’ class, “A Christmas Carol”, you will likely find a similar experience here in this book. Given it is a short story, it is a good, quick read to put you into the right spirit.

[Snorki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A similar tale to A Christmas Carol, this time set in America, in which an elderly, lonely woman throws out toys on Christmas Eve and feels that she is seeing the worst in people - as expected - when they grab, steal or seemingly destroy the toys. However, an angel visits her and shows her the end of some of these stories, and she realises that things are not what they seem. It's quite charming but quite superficial - all ends happily for the small number of characters in the book, but not questioning about the system that causes such misery and unhappiness to start with! I guess that wouldn't make such a charming Christmas story though!