North London Reading Group

If your book group isn’t meeting over Christmas, and you are stuck for something to read, here’s a list of our 10 favourite Christmas novels. Do let us know your thoughts on our top 10 list below, and suggest other books perfect for Christmas.

A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
No Christmas book list would be complete without this Christmas classic. A Christmas Carol is Dicken’s most famous Christmas story, but he did have a penchant for all things festive. For readers looking for some alternative Dickens, he wrote over 20 festive tales including The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Dr Seuss
With similar themes to A Christmas Carol, the seasonal tale for children, the themes in How the Grinch Stole Christmas holds true for adults too. The film version (starring Jim Carrey) is as mad-cap as the book and worth a watch once you have finished reading it!

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas – Agatha Christie
Re-issued in 2008, Christie’s most famous character attends to another shocking and confounding mystery. As the three Lee children and their spouses return home for Christmas, Poirot is called in to investigate as their father is found in a pool of blood on Christmas eve. No traditional Christmas themes in this book, but still a perfect present for any crime fan!

The Gift of the Magi – O Henry
The pen name of American author William Sydney Porter, The Gift of the Magi is a short story focused on a young couple and their giving of gifts. The book’s twist and situational irony, make this the modern Christmas tale perfect for newly-weds.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
In the land where it is always winter, but never Christmas, C.S. Lewis sends his four young heroes and heroines on a morality tale in Narnia. As they battle with the White Witch, Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy discover their true characters, and their true friends. Part of the series of seven books, The Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis’ books are a perfect read for adults and children alike.

The Hogfather – Terry Pratchett
No list would be complete without a book from Pratchett’s weird and wonderful Discworld series. Pratchett’s 20th book in the series begins with the Auditors deciding to eliminate the Hogfather, with Death taking over his role of granting childrens’ wishes on Hogswatchnight. Laugh-out-loud funny, The Hogfather is the perfect antidote to the morality tales of Lewis and Dickens, and will work a few of those extra calories as you belly-laugh along with it!

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – translated by Simon Armitage
Beginning on New Year’s Day, this 14th century poem, is a tale of Christian chivalry, love and romance. Sir Gawain’s Christmas Game with the Green Knight is still an influence for modern writers, notably JRR Tolkien. For children, Susan Cooper’s 1980s novel The Dark is Rising Sequence is a modern take on the traditional Arthurian legends.

A Christmas Memory – Truman Capote
Most famously known for the American classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Capote’s Christmas Memory is a short story first published in Mademoiselle magazine in the mid-1960s. Contained within The Selected Writings of Truman Capote, the semi-autobiographical story describes the author’s upbringing in the countryside, and poignantly on the loneliness and loss which the seven-year old child experiences in the festive season.

Letters from Father Christmas – JRR Tolkien
These letters by JRR Tolkien are a collection written by him for his children between 1920 – 1942. Republished in 2004, the latest version contains pictures and letters not featured in the first book. Letters is a real look in to Tolkien’s home-life and the Polar world created for his children – a must for any Tolkien fan.

The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
Set over a period of 10 years, this 19th century novel isn’t solely set at Christmas, but it is a heart-warming tale of old England. Part-autobiographical, the novel tells the story of Tom and Maggie Tulliver growing up in Lincolnshire in the 1820’s and their untimely deaths. Although not one of the most heart-warming novels in this list, the book’s narrative is rich and detailed, enhanced by the author’s own personal disgrace and relationship with a married man, which is reflected in the novel. Also acknowledged by Agatha Christie, the work of George Elliot (Mary Ann Evans) is still a valid novel for modern times.