The Romance of a Christmas Card (Illustrated)
A romantic christmas love-story by Kate Douglas Wiggin, illustrated by Alice Ercle Hunt.
An excerpt:
“…It was then, when Dick had gone away, that the days had grown drab and long, but the twins kept Letty’s inexperienced hands busy, though in the first year she had the help of old Miss Clarissa Perry, a childless expert in the bringing-up of babies.
The friendship of Reba Larrabee, so bright and cheery and comprehending, was a never-ending solace. There was nothing of the martyr about Letty. She was not wholly resigned to her lot, and to tell the truth she did not intend to be, for a good many years yet.
“I’m not a minister, but I’m the wife of a minister, which is the next best thing,” Mrs. Larrabee used to say. “I tell you, Letty, there’s no use in human creatures being resigned till their bodies are fairly worn out with fighting. When you can’t think of another mortal thing to do, be resigned; but I’m convinced that the Lord is ashamed of us when we fold our hands too soon!”
“You were born courageous, Reba!” And Letty would look admiringly at the rosy cheeks and bright eyes of her friend.
“My blood circulates freely; that helps me a lot. Everybody’s blood circulates in Racine, Wisconsin.”—And the minister’s wife laughed genially. “Yours, here abouts, freezes up in your six months of cold weather, and when it begins to thaw out the snow is ready to fall again. That sort of thing induces depression, although no mere climate would account for Mrs. Popham.—Ossian said to Luther the other day: ‘Maria ain’t hardly to blame, parson. She come from a gloomy stock. The Ladds was all gloomy, root and branch. They say that the Ladd babies was always discouraged two days after they was born.’”
The cause of Letty’s chief heartache, the one that she could reveal to nobody, was that her brother should leave her nowadays so completely to her own resources. She recalled the time when he came home from Boston, pale, haggard, ashamed, and told her of his marriage, months before. She could read in his lack-lustre eyes, and hear in his voice, the absence of love, the fear of the future. That was bad enough, but presently he said: “Letty, there’s more to tell. I’ve no money, and no place to put my wife, but there’s a child coming. Can I bring her here till—afterwards? You won’t like her, but she’s so ailing and despondent just now that I think she’ll behave herself, and I’ll take her away as soon as she’s able to travel. She would never stay here in the country, anyway; you couldn’t hire her to do it.”
She came: black-haired, sullen-faced Eva, with a vulgar beauty of her own, much damaged by bad temper, discontent, and illness. Oh, those terrible weeks for Letty, hiding her own misery, putting on a brave face with the neighbors, keeping the unwelcome sister-in-law in the background…”A romantic christmas love-story by Kate Douglas Wiggin, illustrated by Alice Ercle Hunt.
An excerpt:
“…It was then, when Dick had gone away, that the days had grown drab and long, but the twins kept Letty’s inexperienced hands busy, though in the first year she had the help of old Miss Clarissa Perry, a childless expert in the bringing-up of babies.
The friendship of Reba Larrabee, so bright and cheery and comprehending, was a never-ending solace. There was nothing of the martyr about Letty. She was not wholly resigned to her lot, and to tell the truth she did not intend to be, for a good many years yet.
“I’m not a minister, but I’m the wife of a minister, which is the next best thing,” Mrs. Larrabee used to say. “I tell you, Letty, there’s no use in human creatures being resigned till their bodies are fairly worn out with fighting. When you can’t think of another mortal thing to do, be resigned; but I’m convinced that the Lord is ashamed of us when we fold our hands too soon!”
“You were born courageous, Reba!” And Letty would look admiringly at the rosy cheeks and bright eyes of her friend.
“My blood circulates freely; that helps me a lot. Everybody’s blood circulates in Racine, Wisconsin.”—And the minister’s wife laughed genially. “Yours, here abouts, freezes up in your six months of cold weather, and when it begins to thaw out the snow is ready to fall again. That sort of thing induces depression, although no mere climate would account for Mrs. Popham.—Ossian said to Luther the other day: ‘Maria ain’t hardly to blame, parson. She come from a gloomy stock. The Ladds was all gloomy, root and branch. They say that the Ladd babies was always discouraged two days after they was born.’”
The cause of Letty’s chief heartache, the one that she could reveal to nobody, was that her brother should leave her nowadays so completely to her own resources. She recalled the time when he came home from Boston, pale, haggard, ashamed, and told her of his marriage, months before. She could read in his lack-lustre eyes, and hear in his voice, the absence of love, the fear of the future. That was bad enough, but presently he said: “Letty, there’s more to tell. I’ve no money, and no place to put my wife, but there’s a child coming. Can I bring her here till—afterwards? You won’t like her, but she’s so ailing and despondent just now that I think she’ll behave herself, and I’ll take her away as soon as she’s able to travel. She would never stay here in the country, anyway; you couldn’t hire her to do it.”
She came: black-haired, sullen-faced Eva, with a vulgar beauty of her own, much damaged by bad temper, discontent, and illness. Oh, those terrible weeks for Letty, hiding her own misery, putting on a brave face with the neighbors, keeping the unwelcome sister-in-law in the background…”
List Price: $ 3.95
Price: $ 3.95
Related Products
Related posts:
A pleasant read by the fireplace on a rainy December afternoon,
My tastes in literature lean toward science fiction, adventure in Antarctica, Christmas stories and Cozies. (“Cozy” is a term recently served up by the Wall Street Journal to describe a mystery novel of the type written by Lillian Jackson Braun. It usually involves a mysterious murder, little violence, eccentric characters, a cat or two, very little sex, and useful suggestions about arts and crafts.) Readers describe a Cozy as a book a woman can feel secure in passing on to her 14-year-old daughter.
When I began to read The Romance of a Christmas Card by Kate Douglas Wiggin, I expected it to straddle the genres of Christmas story and Cozy, albeit without the murder. About half way through the story, I had to revise my expectations. Although, Kate Douglas Wiggin is famous for her novels Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1903) and Mother Carey’s Chickens (1911), she can deal with some remarkably dark subjects for an obvious optimist. This Christmas story deals with depression, death, abandonment, dysfunctional families and parental alienation. Ms. Wiggin is still able to write a light-hearted story of the joy that surrounds the Christmas season. The Romance of a Christmas Card is ultimately a story of strange coincidences that ultimately lead to redemption. Originally released in 1916, this book is one that feel secure in passing on to a 14-year-old daughter for a pleasant read by the fireplace on a rainy December afternoon.
Was this review helpful to you?
|The Folks Back Home,
Two households in a quaint New Hampshire village experience yuletide joy in the 1880′s when the handmade Christmas cards of the minister’s wife are published and circulated nationally. This simple tale of family loss will appeal less to gradeschool children, since the main characters are all adults.
This slender book spirits us gently back to a simpler time, as two village prodigals have been gone for three years, leaving gossip and grief behind–not to mention a minister sorrowing over his rogue son and a sister with orphan twins to raise. This is a quiet, short read for a snowy evening. Makes us wonder what it is about a Christmas card which we find attractive enough to buy and send it–the verse or the picture. Someone had to design it, thus sharing a little bit of their own heart.
Was this review helpful to you?
|