The
year in 1894 and the place is Stirling, Scotland. It is the day
before Christmas. Margaret Campbell, a teacher in Edinburgh, has been
home visiting her parents and brother. But it has not gone well. Her
younger brother Alan had been injured when a youth, some twelve years
ago, and is wheelchair bound. He has become a bitter man.
Meg
has had enough of his tirades and escapes the house, anxious to take
the train back to Edinburgh. The snow is heavy but the train finally
leaves.
On
the train she meets a handsome man she finds out is Gordon Shaw, the
very man who, in a drunken state, injured Alan.
Gordon
is attracted to Meg and she to him. And then the train is stopped by
a drift of snow and the two are forced to walk back to Stirling –
and to a very awkward situation.
I
have come to really like the Christmas novellas. (I've read all of
Anne Perry's.) And this is a good one. There are many issues dealt
with in this story. How long is the past to direct the present?
Should forgiveness ever be withheld? Is it ever right to lie when the
truth would hurt so much?
An
added plus is that you learn a great deal about the Victorian
Christmas traditions and celebrations, and about curling.
The
book was a little predictable, or was it just great foreshadowing by
Liz? Nonetheless, a fine holiday read.
A
Reader's Guide is included at the end of the novel. (So is a recipe
for Scottish shortbread.)
Liz
has created a special website for readers who love Scottish fiction:
www.MyScottishHeart.com.
You
can find Liz's photos of Stirling at www.Pinterist.com/LizCurtisHiggs
and at www.Facebook.com/MyScottishHeart.
Liz
Curtis Higgs has written thirty books including her six Scottish
historical novels. She has won several awards. She and her husband
live in a nineteenth-century farmhouse near Louisville, Kentucky.
WaterBrook
Press, 224 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for
the purpose of this review.
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