The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter
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- Create Date：2021-10-28 09:51:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jessica Harrison
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Summary
The perfect gift this Christmas season: a generous selection of some of the greatest festive stories of all time - now in a beautiful clothbound edition
This is a collection of the most magical， moving， chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world， taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris， a New York speakeasy to an English country house， bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio， and even outer space。
Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote， Shirley Jackson， Dylan Thomas， Saki and Chekhov， as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism， Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin， Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden， and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait。 Featuring santas， ghosts， trolls， unexpected guests， curmudgeons and miracles， here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time。
This is a collection of the most magical， moving， chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world， taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris， a New York speakeasy to an English country house， bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio， and even outer space。
Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote， Shirley Jackson， Dylan Thomas， Saki and Chekhov， as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism， Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin， Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden， and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait。 Featuring santas， ghosts， trolls， unexpected guests， curmudgeons and miracles， here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time。
Reviews
Lisa Montgomery
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If you are looking for "Hallmark"-style stories， this anthology is not for you。 There are heartwarming tales and poignant ones and others which are downright melancholy， and， also， one finds murders and Christmas adventures。 If you struggle with the idea of a "holly， jolly Christmas" each year， this might just be the read for you。 If you are looking for "Hallmark"-style stories， this anthology is not for you。 There are heartwarming tales and poignant ones and others which are downright melancholy， and， also， one finds murders and Christmas adventures。 If you struggle with the idea of a "holly， jolly Christmas" each year， this might just be the read for you。 。。。more
Kirsten
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The first two stories were so utterly disturbing and depressing I couldn’t go further。 Not at all what I expected from a collection Christmas stories。
Ken
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A wonderful collection of Xmas stories
Kim Koster
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Ugh。 Picked up this book as I thought it would be a collection of feel-good Christmas stories。 The first one was from the point of view of the Christmas tree， which ends up "chopped。。。into little pieces。" Among the first few stories was one about a wedding， the bride a child whose dowry attracted an unappealing man。 We have murder， mental illness， the entire gamut。 Apparently the editor who made the story selection *hates* Christmas。Do yourself a favor: read Truman Capote's *A Christmas Memory* Ugh。 Picked up this book as I thought it would be a collection of feel-good Christmas stories。 The first one was from the point of view of the Christmas tree， which ends up "chopped。。。into little pieces。" Among the first few stories was one about a wedding， the bride a child whose dowry attracted an unappealing man。 We have murder， mental illness， the entire gamut。 Apparently the editor who made the story selection *hates* Christmas。Do yourself a favor: read Truman Capote's *A Christmas Memory* （the only story of thirty two that I truly enjoyed and would read again）。 Then find yourself another collection of short stories。 Bah， humbug， apparently！ 。。。more
Kirsteen Gordon
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A miss mash of stories that gives you a taste of what the author is capable of loosely tied up in a Christmas/snowy theme。 Rather dull with the exception of: Dorothy Sayers， The Necklace of Pearls， an investigation into a lost string of pearls; Dylan Thomas's nostalgic， A Childs Christmas in Wales and Truman Capotes wonderful descriptive， A Christmas Memory。 A miss mash of stories that gives you a taste of what the author is capable of loosely tied up in a Christmas/snowy theme。 Rather dull with the exception of: Dorothy Sayers， The Necklace of Pearls， an investigation into a lost string of pearls; Dylan Thomas's nostalgic， A Childs Christmas in Wales and Truman Capotes wonderful descriptive， A Christmas Memory。 。。。more
Jane
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It’s an eclectic—odd—collection， not terribly “Christmasy，” but any collection that includes Damon Runyon AND Muriel Spark is okay by me。
Pablo C。
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Like most short-story collections， this is an uneven book， but its best passages are good enough to make it worth one's while。 The hardcover edition， besides， is a sheer pleasure just to hold。 Like most short-story collections， this is an uneven book， but its best passages are good enough to make it worth one's while。 The hardcover edition， besides， is a sheer pleasure just to hold。 。。。more
Isabel
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Very charming and nostalgic
Kay
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This collection of short stories， Christmas stories for adults， sure wasn't what I was looking for， either to give as a gift or add to my own collection。 One review mentions that it "captures the ugliest side of Christmas" and "encourages the reader to look on the uncomfortable truths of the season。" The title was included in the independent booksellers' catalog and I ordered a copy to give as a gift。 Fortunately I waited too long to deliver it so decided I'd read it myself and add it to my coll This collection of short stories， Christmas stories for adults， sure wasn't what I was looking for， either to give as a gift or add to my own collection。 One review mentions that it "captures the ugliest side of Christmas" and "encourages the reader to look on the uncomfortable truths of the season。" The title was included in the independent booksellers' catalog and I ordered a copy to give as a gift。 Fortunately I waited too long to deliver it so decided I'd read it myself and add it to my collection。 After finishing it I see that I would have been mortified to have gifted it to a friend with its implied recommendation。 I'll put it aside to take to a used book store after Thanksgiving。 。。。more
Joanne
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Really opened up my mind to appreciating Christmas stories that don't have a happy ending。 Read up to around pg 100。 Will continue next Christmas season。 Really opened up my mind to appreciating Christmas stories that don't have a happy ending。 Read up to around pg 100。 Will continue next Christmas season。 。。。more
Flora
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This is NOT a "Hallmark Channel" collection of Christmas stories。 Some of these stories aren't even necessarily about Christmas itself。 BUT it is a fine collection of short stories by great writers， set during the Christmas season。 The 32 stories represent authors as varied as Hans Christian Andersen， Chekhov， O。 Henry， Sayers， Bradbury， Capote and Calvino。 The themes are varied as well。 Capote's "A Christmas Memory" is richly evocative of his youth。 Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree" is a This is NOT a "Hallmark Channel" collection of Christmas stories。 Some of these stories aren't even necessarily about Christmas itself。 BUT it is a fine collection of short stories by great writers， set during the Christmas season。 The 32 stories represent authors as varied as Hans Christian Andersen， Chekhov， O。 Henry， Sayers， Bradbury， Capote and Calvino。 The themes are varied as well。 Capote's "A Christmas Memory" is richly evocative of his youth。 Hans Christian Andersen's "The Fir Tree" is a cautionary tale， as many fairy tales are。Not a book for little ones。。。。but a great selection to be savored by adults。 。。。more
Christine
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As an antidote to the holiday murder mysteries I've been reading， I turned to this collection of Christmas stories in a variety of styles， from fanciful tales and ghost stories to humor and seasonal reminiscences。 Check out my review at my books blog， Reading Salon。 As an antidote to the holiday murder mysteries I've been reading， I turned to this collection of Christmas stories in a variety of styles， from fanciful tales and ghost stories to humor and seasonal reminiscences。 Check out my review at my books blog， Reading Salon。 。。。more
Nicole
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Note to myself: Read the second half next year！
Stefanos
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I am afraid this is an unfortunate collection of dull， meaningless， lacklustre stories。 I gave up midway， which is something I do very rarely。
Lisa Mersie
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A charming read during the holidays。 This book contains well known and lesser known Christmas stories from all over the world。 Of course， some speak more to the reader then others， but that is the fun of these collections！ Information about each writer can be found in the back， which I thought was very interesting。 Would definitely recommend this book and will gift it to some of my fellow Christmas loving friends。
Sandra
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'I'll give you a Christmas present， ' he yelled， shrilly， at the door， with his 。45 in his hand。 Even then he had some reputation as an offhand shot。'From 'A Chaparal Christmas Gift ' by O Henry This is an eclectic short story collection that explores traditions， beliefs， hopes， culture， landscape and the many states of the human condition at Christmas。 Includes authors such as Dostoevsky， Shirley Jackson， Muriel Spark and Lucia Berlin。 Fun to sip through the festive season 🎄🌟❄🎁 'I'll give you a Christmas present， ' he yelled， shrilly， at the door， with his 。45 in his hand。 Even then he had some reputation as an offhand shot。'From 'A Chaparal Christmas Gift ' by O Henry This is an eclectic short story collection that explores traditions， beliefs， hopes， culture， landscape and the many states of the human condition at Christmas。 Includes authors such as Dostoevsky， Shirley Jackson， Muriel Spark and Lucia Berlin。 Fun to sip through the festive season 🎄🌟❄🎁 。。。more
Sandra
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I generally find it a bit difficult to rate short story collections that bring together works of different authors - the writing styles and the focus of each story tend to differ a lot， and with them the overall mood and feeling each story builds。 It can be fun and interesting to jump into "something new" every few pages， but it often results in a few stories also completely missing the mark for me。 （Which also happened here。）Going into this looking for that "Christmas feeling" may also have bee I generally find it a bit difficult to rate short story collections that bring together works of different authors - the writing styles and the focus of each story tend to differ a lot， and with them the overall mood and feeling each story builds。 It can be fun and interesting to jump into "something new" every few pages， but it often results in a few stories also completely missing the mark for me。 （Which also happened here。）Going into this looking for that "Christmas feeling" may also have been a bit detrimental to my enjoyment of each story， as some of them merely use Christmas as a backdrop， or even work counter to that warm and nostalgic mood。 What this collection does very well though， is bringing together a wide range of voices， both in terms of the time they were written， and the cultural backgrounds of authors and/or main characters。 I expect that the even readers well versed in Christmas stories will find new material here。 Overall it is a collection with many stories I had a good time reading， some I enjoyed a lot （like Grace Paley's "The Loudest Voice"， Wolfdietrich Schnurre's "The Loan" and Saki's "Reginald's Christmas Revel"） and others that were just not what I was looking for this （very particular） December。 。。。more
Maria Lianou
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A solid 2，5* because I enjoyed some of the short stories， and I wouldn't gift it to any of my friends and family members。 A solid 2，5* because I enjoyed some of the short stories， and I wouldn't gift it to any of my friends and family members。 。。。more
Fiction Addition Angela
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This book was a yay and a nay for me。。 I read a story liked it。 Read another didn’t。。 I’m still on the fence。 I think I read it too late。 It needed to be at the start of December not the end。 I’ll reread next year。 I think the main reason I wasn’t sure about this collection of Hans Christian Anderson Christmas stories was because some of the stories were sad， in fact very sad。 A little hard hitting when you imagine Santa， Elf’s and Reindeer bliss at Christmas。 My favourite， A Christmas memory by This book was a yay and a nay for me。。 I read a story liked it。 Read another didn’t。。 I’m still on the fence。 I think I read it too late。 It needed to be at the start of December not the end。 I’ll reread next year。 I think the main reason I wasn’t sure about this collection of Hans Christian Anderson Christmas stories was because some of the stories were sad， in fact very sad。 A little hard hitting when you imagine Santa， Elf’s and Reindeer bliss at Christmas。 My favourite， A Christmas memory by Truman Capote but I’ve read this before so I felt meh， I know I love this one。。 where are all the other nice stories。 I felt a little depressed by some of the others。 Some of the stories weren’t about Christmas， but merely set in the Christmas period。 This collection of stories are mixed bag from a variety of timelines and countries。 Most of the stories are dark and grim and this book surprised me that the collection have been put together。 I went in feeling all the wonderment of Christmas and came out feeling sad。 Not one of my favourite reads this Christmas。 Off to find myself a little Happy book now。 Two stars ⭐️ ⭐️ only from me。 。。。more
Rebekah May
，
Like all short story collections， this was a mixed bag。 See my status updates for my brief thoughts and ratings of each story。 Generally this was good fun。 Most of them was ok， some really good and fun ones， some terrible ones。 Only one I couldn't finish！ This was a nice read but， do be warned， there is a fair amount of sad stories so it's not all candy canes and happy endings。 Like all short story collections， this was a mixed bag。 See my status updates for my brief thoughts and ratings of each story。 Generally this was good fun。 Most of them was ok， some really good and fun ones， some terrible ones。 Only one I couldn't finish！ This was a nice read but， do be warned， there is a fair amount of sad stories so it's not all candy canes and happy endings。 。。。more
Mary
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If you are looking for a diverse assortment of Christmas stories， this is that anthology。 Aside from the Christmas theme， no two stories are alike。 There are all types of stories: festive， melancholy， funny， detective， ghost， iconic， sacred， etc。 Definitely something interesting for all kinds of readers。 My personal favorites: Saki's Reginald's Christmas Revel; Frank O'Connor's Christmas Morning; and Sophia De Mello Breyner Andresen's Christmas Eve， but all the stories in this anthology are inte If you are looking for a diverse assortment of Christmas stories， this is that anthology。 Aside from the Christmas theme， no two stories are alike。 There are all types of stories: festive， melancholy， funny， detective， ghost， iconic， sacred， etc。 Definitely something interesting for all kinds of readers。 My personal favorites: Saki's Reginald's Christmas Revel; Frank O'Connor's Christmas Morning; and Sophia De Mello Breyner Andresen's Christmas Eve， but all the stories in this anthology are interesting and well crafted。 。。。more
Gina
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Not your average Yuletide stories by wonderful authors of classic lit。 Not for the reader who wants a “hallmark feel-good” Christmas read - but one will appreciate these nonetheless。
Kimberly
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A nice selection of Christmas stories; however， most are not happy， feel-good tales。
Sarah
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Gute Mischung aus unterschiedlichsten Weihnachtsgeschichten。 Manche waren gar nicht meines， einige haben mir dafür supergut gefallen！
Katie Cat Books
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Short stories。 Classics。 Christmas。Story: A collection of short stories from 1844 - 1993 featuring Christmas。 Language: A variety of authors and countries are represented。 Most stories are short， only a few pages long。 An author's section in the back gives a brief summary of each author。Characters: Men， women and children， rich and poor， city and country。A nice read for the Christmas holidays。 Short stories。 Classics。 Christmas。Story: A collection of short stories from 1844 - 1993 featuring Christmas。 Language: A variety of authors and countries are represented。 Most stories are short， only a few pages long。 An author's section in the back gives a brief summary of each author。Characters: Men， women and children， rich and poor， city and country。A nice read for the Christmas holidays。 。。。more
Gabriele Gregory
，
some surprisingly depressing stories in this collection
Snorki
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A great collection of stories from across the world， some sugary and sparkly， others a little darker， showing some of the origins of Christmas beyond the Jesus story。 I really enjoyed these - lots of contrast and some insights into different Christmas traditions across the world。
Hanna
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2。75*
Otempora
，
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories is not a Hallmark collection。 You won’t find cheery， uplifting holiday spirit here。 Penguin aims for a literary anthology， looking for stories from great writers that happen to be set at Christmas， rather than stories that will give you the warm fuzzies。 There’s no Charles Dickens here， and the collection snubs “Gift of the Magi” in favor of a lesser-known Henry story。 The aim was clearly to show off material that’s not as well-trod。 Harrison， the editor， ev The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories is not a Hallmark collection。 You won’t find cheery， uplifting holiday spirit here。 Penguin aims for a literary anthology， looking for stories from great writers that happen to be set at Christmas， rather than stories that will give you the warm fuzzies。 There’s no Charles Dickens here， and the collection snubs “Gift of the Magi” in favor of a lesser-known Henry story。 The aim was clearly to show off material that’s not as well-trod。 Harrison， the editor， evidently aimed for diversity as well: though most stories still revolve around Anglo-American Christmases， there’s an impressive breadth of perspective here， featuring African， South American， and even Jewish writers as well。And yet despite the fact that these are stories set at Christmas， rather than stories about Christmas， cohesive themes do emerge， more so than in some collections authored by a single person。 From Paris to Rio to the American Southwest， across nearly two centuries and so many perspectives， the sheer dominance of Christmas becomes clear - even before the commercialization， the jingly radio tunes， the Coca-Cola Santa Claus。 Child or adult， Christian or not， Christmas-hater or Christmas-lover or Christmas-not-carer， the holiday captures all of these characters in its vortex。 They pin their hopes on it， blame their disappointment on it， bow under the weight of it， rise to meet it。 Though it may not leave you in a holly-jolly mood， Christmas Stories will show you a fascinating mosaic。 If you’re up for some meatier， more melancholic seasonal writing， it’s worth a read。Some of my favorites:“A Christmas Party and a Wedding” - Yeah， this is about what I’d expect from a Dostoyevsky Christmas story。 It’s cynical and satirical， perhaps one of the least “Christmassy” of the collection （and that’s saying something）， but I still enjoyed it。 “Noël” - Another pretty wretched tale， but I loved Némirovsky’s style。 She narrates the story as if she’s describing a film， which only adds another layer of irony to this story about a dysfunctional family。 Like “Christmas Party，” this story transported me totally to a specific time and place。“Reginald’s Christmas Revel” - I laughed out loud at the end。“Dancing Dan’s Christmas” - This is a story about gangsters but it’s just dang funny and cute。 “The Christmas Turkey” - De Andrade’s story about a family celebrating Christmas after a loss strikes at the heart of what it feels like to grieve during the holidays。 “Christmas Morning” - A humorous and keenly observed story a boy with a goody-two-shoes baby brother; the ending is quite sad but I still remember this as one of the most charming of the stories。 “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” - I only knew Dylan Thomas from “Do Not Go Gentle” before reading this。 The story reads in many ways like a prose poem， more an experience than a narrative， and the effect is lovely。“A Visit to the Bank” - I love Shirley Jackson。 Like a lot of her family writing， this is either wry in a sweet way， or sweet in a wry way - not that I envy the poor mom her situation here， but it’s all narrated with tongue-in-cheek goodwill， with a feeling that Jackson is laughing at herself as much as at her characters。 “A Christmas Memory” - Possibly my favorite story in the anthology。 A gentle depiction of the narrator’s relationship with his childlike aunt， full of love for her and for the changing seasons around him。 “The Loudest Voice” - It’s fun to get a Jewish perspective in a book about a Christian holiday。 “Loudest Voice” tells the story of a Jewish girl in a heavily Jewish neighborhood chosen for a starring role in the Christmas pageant; it’s both funny and profound。 “A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country” - Another entry that’s more experience than story。 Really lovely writing that captures the austere joys of the darkest month of the year。“The Ghost Ships” - The final story in this wide-ranging collection brings it home for me: to Angela Carter， a writer I love， and to the chilly Puritan shores of New England。 Rich and strange， folkloric， beautiful and eerie。 。。。more
Rich
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