Former actress Elfrida Phipps, 62, flees London for a cottage in the small English village of Dibton where she is befriended by the Blundell family.

Retired college professor and organist Oscar Blundell turns to Elfrida when an auto accident claims the lives of his wife, Gloria, and 12-year-old daughter, Francesca.  Grief-stricken Oscar leans on Elfrida who convinces him to return to his grandmother’s estate in Scotland where he retains half-ownership in the Estate House.  Since he has nowhere else to go and Gloria’s sons have put The Grange up for sale, Oscar agrees.

When her affair with a married man turns sour, Elfrida’s second cousin, Carrie Sutton, leaves Austria and returns to London.  There she finds her niece, Lucy, refusing to accompany her mother and male friend to Florida for two weeks. Grandmother, Dodie, also has plans to spend the holidays in Bournemouth with friends leaving the 14-year-old bereft of friends or family for winter break.

Called back to London by his company chairman to revive a defunct Scottish textile mill, Sam Howard, shows up at the Estate House during a blinding snow storm.  While trying to enter the building with a key from Oscar’s cousin and co-owner, Sam discovers an ailing Carrie who invites him to come in out of the cold.

In two short weeks, these five people from three generations begin to put their lives back together and find something to celebrate.

While most readers reacted favorable to this novel of hope and renewal, some reviewers found fault with Pilcher’s unrealistic time frame for Oscar’s grief process.  Gloria and Francesca have been dead for two months and Oscar and Elfrida are definitely a couple in every sense of the word.

Others found the players stereotypical:  the grieving widower, the neglected child, the broken-hearted  lover, the cold-blooded socialite and pleaded for multi-layered character development.

Most readers will find the plot predictable, but don’t let that keep you from enjoying the rich descriptions of domestic detail, exquisite depiction of Scotland in winter and that sure-to-please happy ending.

Discussion Questions follow:

1. Elfrida made many friends in the small village of Dibton, but the Blundells became her favorites.  Discuss what attracted Elfrida to each one in turn:  Oscar, Gloria, Francesca.

2.  Both Oscar and Elfrida have spent much of their professional lives in London, yet find Dibton a comfortable place to live.  What makes Elfrida comfortable? Oscar?  How did the tragic auto accident affect their comfort level?

3. Sam retains fond memories of Radley Hall, his boyhood home, and Oscar remembers Corrydale, his grandmother’s estate.  What memories do you carry with you of your childhood home or hometown?  Good or bad?

4. Taking into account Elfrida’s admission that, “She liked Oscar immensely; perhaps too much,” how would you characterize her relationship with Oscar before and after the tragic accident?

5. Elfrida declared that she had to set limitations and reservations so she would not be absorbed by or be beholden to the Blundells.  Discuss the above reference and explain what she is so afraid of.

6. Compare and contrast the two young girls (Lucy & Francesca) especially in  their reaction to the merging of the pagan festival surrounding Winter Solstice with the Christian celebration of Jesus’ birth.

7. Why do you think Pilcher chose Winter Solstice as her book title?

8. How accurate is the author’s portrayal of the grief  process?  Some reviewers found it unrealistic that Oscar asked Elfrida to marry him just two months after the death of his wife and daughter.  Do you agree?

9. What part does fate play in Winter Solstice?  Did you find the plot believable?  Did Pilcher’s use of fate lend to or detract from the novel’s believability?

10. Discuss Pilcher’s use of setting to propel the action of the novel.  One reviewer felt that the setting assumed the position of an additional character in the book.  Agree/Disagree?

What other Rosamunde Pilcher novels have you read and enjoyed?

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Go to Oriental Trading Company to see all eleven pages of available bookmarks.

Can you guess which one I’m giving to all my bookish friends?

]]> http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/how-to/quick-gifts/feed 0 http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/reviews/a-little-christmas http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/reviews/a-little-christmas#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:08:39 +0000 Linda http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/?p=1755 Prolific author, Debbie Macomber, loves Christmas so much that she puts up five fully-decorated trees and 37 Nativity scenes.

In between all of these extravagant holiday preparations, she still  finds time to pen a yearly Christmas novel ever since the early 1990s.

This post will highlight five of Macomber’s holiday gems:

The Christmas Basket (2002)

This small, 240-page novel features an exaggerated, laughable version of  the historic Hatfield and McCoy feud.

When 28-year-old, Noelle, could avoid her hometown of Rose, Oregon, no longer she hopped a plane in Dallas.   Wouldn’t you know it, she just happened to encounter Thom, the high school sweetheart that jilted her 10 years ago, on the same flight.

Slowly the couple rekindles their fractured romance among the mom-against-mom cat fight which ensues when the two women must cooperate to finish a service project for the town’s Century Club.

Some readers felt that the mother’s antics while shopping and filling the Salvation Army Christmas baskets more interesting than the plot involving the two main characters. Agreeably, the supermarket demolition derby  and the toy-throwing incident at the local mall are not to be missed.

One reader described the story’s content as: “no meat on this bone,” while another asked for a more, in-depth explanation of the 10-year-old misunderstanding that  had separated Noelle and Thom.

But it’s all in good fun; so curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy this feel-good Christmas story.

When Christmas Comes (2004)

Just like  the movie, The Holiday, houses are swapped and romance ensues during the Christmas holidays.

But Macomber adds a few twists of her own making to When Christmas Comes.  Instead of a Cameron Diaz and a Kate Winslet exchange, it’s Emily, a lonely widow, and Charles, a stuffy Harvard professor.

Ironically enough Charles, who loathes the holidays, lands in Leavenworth, Washington, the Christmas capitol of the world.

Upon arrival in Boston, Emily discovers  her daughter has already left town for a  Floridian Christmas with the biker boyfriend.  The plot thickens when a meddling mother in Arizona sends elder son, Ray, to investigate the gold-digger answering Charles’ phone.

In the company of Santa and six elves, Faith, descends on Leavenworth to cheer up single mom, Emily, only to find Charles the curmudgeon in residence.  You get the picture.

One reader criticized Macomber for cramming too many underdeveloped characters into the book.  Another found the character of Charles, “cold one minute and kissing Faith the next,” unbelievable.

It’s a hilarious combination of Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road and The Holiday all rolled into 240 pages. Don’t miss it!

Read more about Tara Road here.

Christmas Letters (2006)

When Christmas letter writer, K. O. discovers that the despised Dr. Wynn Jeffries lives in her building, she flips out.

Not only has the good doctor advised parents to downplay Christmas, but her sister’s strict adherence to his “Free Child” methodology has turned K. O.’s once lovely 5-year-old nieces into disobedient ruffians.

Tricked into a dinner date with the noted child psychologist, the conflicted  Katherine O’Connor uncovers a courteous, funny and sweet companion. Need I go on?  An astute reader can probably figure out the rest of the plot.

However, a plot twist involves Wynn’s ex-hippie father, and the quirky neighbor, LaVonne, who reads kitty litter and Raisin Bran to foretell the future.

Some readers thought the conflict resolution too short and unrealistic.  Another mourned the loss of the secondary characters in the final chapters of the book.

In the end, two romances prove better than one especially during the Christmas season.

For tips on writing Christmas letters click here.

Where Angels Go (2007)

Part of Macomber’s angels series, this novel chronicles the misadventures of Christmas angels Shirley, Goodness and Mercy.

Mercy’s task involves helping an elderly man convince his stubborn wife to pack up their home of a lifetime and enter an assisted living facility before he departs the earth.

Goodness takes on the job of helping reclusive Beth find true love while playing a video game with her online partner.

Lastly, Shirley has to find a way to satisfy Carter’s greatest Christmas wish – a dog of his very own.

Book number 3 in Macomber’s Christmas angel series, sparkles  with child-like wonder for the older crowd. Somewhat predictable, but a great stocking stuffer!!

A Cedar Cove Christmas (2008)

Mary Jo Wyse finds herself in much the same predicament as her namesake from the New Testament–pregnant and not married.

Two weeks before her due date, this mother-to-be travels to Cedar Cove where the prospective father had promised to meet her.

Since the town is bursting with Christmas Eve visitors and there’s no room at the inn, librarian Grace Harding offers a room over her stable housing all of the animals for Cedar Cove’s living Nativity.  Watch out for the camel – he bites!!

When David is a no-show and  baby Noelle decides to make an early appearance, it’s young paramedic, Mack McAfee who saves the day.  The arrival of the three Wyse men, Mary Jo’s overprotective brothers, rounds out the story even down to their gifts, modern day versions of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Macomber’s 2008 Christmas offering is actually the 9th book in the Cedar Cove series and should be read before 92 Pacific Boulevard.  If you prefer, it can stand alone.

Macomber’s yultide stories are a fast read, 240-300 pages, filled with warmth, joy and laughter.  Pick up one during the upcoming Christmas season.

Watch for Mrs. Miracle, Macomber’s 2005 Christmas offering, as a Hallmark channel movie presentation on December 5th.