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“An Evergreen Christmas” is a delightful mix of old stories and poems, mostly from the Victorian era. It celebrates Christmas in an old-timey way, but those of us who enjoy Victorian vibes, no matter how goody-two-shoes they are, will get a special kick out of it.
You’ll find O. Henry in this book, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Dickens, of course. But there’s also Christina Rossetti and L.M. Montgomery, plus many more.
This is a fast and pleasing read, and children will enjoy it as well. There are many old-fashioned customs and ideas here that could spark conversions with little ones. And speaking of “old-fashioned,” the attitudes of the 19th and early 20th centuries have not been cleaned up, so bear in mind that you will encounter ideas that many of us nowadays don’t subscribe to.
You’ll meet good kids and a lot of poor families in this treasury, which is no bad thing. It behooves us to recall the poor in a season of over-the-top spending and the Victorians had no problem piling the moral lessons on. I don’t mind that a bit.
You can find a copy of the book HERE.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book to review.
Review by Kate Wolford. editor-in-chief of The Fairy Tale Magazine.