Customer Reviews

A Christmas Journey

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Anne Perry's memorable character, the indomitable Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, is the heart of this book. She is a young wife and mother, 30 years of age, attending a weekend house party at the home of her friend Omegus Jones. There Isobel Alvie, a young widow who is vying for the attention of an eligible bachelor, makes a cruel and cutting remark about Gwendolen, another young widow who would appear to be about to become engaged to him. The next morning Gwendolen is dead, an obvious suicide. Omegus proposes a medieval solution that could allow Isobel, who the guests find responsible for Gwendolen's death, to redeem herself. It will be a long and bitter journey in the cold of early winter to deliver Gwendolen's last letter to her mother, who lives in the north of Scotland. Vespasia, in friendship, offers to accompany Isobel. The journey is longer and much more difficult than anticipated, but the women persevere and meet another remarkable woman, Gwendolen's mother.

The morals and mores of mid-nineteenth century England may seem strange and unusually strict to us, but Isobel and Vespasia must learn to live within those rules. As they travel, they share their thoughts and develop a true friendship. It is a journey of discovery for both of them, as they look deep inside themselves. I do agree with another reviewer that Vespasia dwells too much on her affair with Marco in Rome, but I assume that it is still a very recent occurrence, so that is understandable.

What I do not understand, however, is Vespasia's willingness to leave her children, well cared for though they are, for long periods of time, first to go to Rome and again to travel to Scotland. Again, I suppose it is customary for the gentry and nobility of that era to do so. Nevertheless, it surprised and disappointed me.

However, this is an excellent book which I highly recommend to all who love Aunt Vespasia and wish a glimpse of the young woman who became a great lady.

Anne Perry is a brilliant writer. She is my favorite author and can take you into Victorian England better than Charles Dickens, BUT even a superb writer can not always create a good work. Anne Perry proves that with this shallow, short novella. Her descriptions are magnificent, but there has to be a riviting story to make a piece worthwhile and this book does not have one.

The title is misleading, it is not a Christmas story. It starts before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. It has virtually nothing to do with Christmas. To be accurate, it might better have been titled "A Winter Journey".

I had thought that this work might give insights into the wonderful Lady Vespasia from the Thomas Pitt novels. All it does is expose her as a shallow, almost adulterous lady of leisure who spends a great deal of time thinking of her lost love from a Roman escapade and has very little thought of her husband and children.She does not even spend Christmas Eve with her family but rushes off to Applecross to be with a man who has fascinated her throughout the book.

The woman who causes the problems in the story is a most unlikable person. She has a quick, sharp, wicked tongue and uses it often. She snaps at everyone, even as they try to help her.

The only person of true and nobel character is the stoic mother of the girl who committed suicide. She is the most interesting character in the book and only makes an appearance in the last quarter of the story. However even her character is under developed as there is no real reason given for her running from her previous life.

There are needless extensions of the trip to find the mother of the suicide victum. Everytime it seems that she will be found, she has moved on to another more remote location. This gives Ms.Perry a chance to describe the Scotland she calls home, but needlessly prolongs a story that has quickly run out of steam.

I wish I could recommend this book as Anne Perry and Christmas seemed a magnificent combination, but this is a very poor work from a usually great author.

This is a much shorter book than most of those from Anne Perry; it's a piece of light rewading for and about Christmas. The writer takes Aunt Vespasia, one the favourite characters from her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, and tells the story of one Christmas in her younger days. It isn't exactly a mystery story - a young woman commits suicide and her reasons for doing that seem obvious. But Anne Perry is master of digging beneath the obvious to find the truth beneath the truth.

The result is a tale that flows from an elegant house party in a country mansion north to the frozen snowy wastes of Scotland (and Anne Perry lives in northern Scotland so we can assume she knows whereof she speaks). It's a pilgrimage of sorts, with Vespasia and her friend Isobel toiling through storms and snowdrifts to find the mother of the dead woman and, incidentally the truth behind the suicide.

The only thing spoiling this good story is the overly moralistic tone that Anne Perry is increasingly becoming bogged down in. Of course you want characters with deep motivation - some pure, some mistaken, some evil - and the battle between good and evil always makes for good plot structure. But Anne Perry does tend to overdo it, leaving the reader wondering if she can stand being swamped beneath so many layers of virtue and morality.

Ms Perry is a very talented author and I have read, re-read, and listened to her Monk and Pitt books, but this book was rather disappointing. Unable to wait, I purchased this at full price on its first day of issue- I wish I had waited.

As I read it, my excitement lessened and the words 'shallow' and "Harlequin Romance' kept coming to mind. The contrived plot was hard to swallow: a woman is the victim of a stinging remark and commits suicide. No one appears to really care and no police are called. Eager to place blame, the houseparty group convenes a hearing and declares one of themselves guilty of contributing to her death and so must do penance. Huh???

The moral (spelled out otherwise I don't think I would have caught on) is forgiveness and mercy, but it was made known rather abruptly in the last 2 pages (as it often is) and left me wondering if I'd missed something.

The characters are Ms Perry's and she may do with them as she wishes, but I cannot say I was happy to learn more about Vespasia in this book. Vespasia, who is well aware of her great beauty and status in society, seems bored- bored with her husband, her life, her friends, and even her children since she leaves them for weeks at a time. Perhaps she accompanied Isobel to the wilds of Scotland out of sheer boredom. She doesn't seemed bored by the attentions of her host, though.

Good characters have flaws and weaknesses and Vespasia is certainly one of Ms Perry's best, despite the weak story of this particular book.

Borrow before you buy, buy at a discount only.

It's Christmas time and guests have gathered in the Berkshire countryside house of Applecross for a weekend of Christmas cheer. Unfortunately for one guest, a cutting remark made by another sent her to suicide. In order not to be socially ostracized the young woman who made the remark that caused the suicide embarks on a journey to Scotland to deliver a letter to the deceased mother.

I am usually not a big fan of the books written for Christmas by best-selling authors. The prime purpose of most of these books seems to be to cash in on the Christmas dollars people are willing to spend. I had high hopes for this book because I am a big fan of Anne Perry. It started with promise with one of the interesting secondary characters in the Thomas Pitt series, Vespasia Cumming-Gould. The story takes place when Vespasia is in her early thirties instead of the more advanced years of the Pitt series. I thought we would have some good character development and backstory for Vespasia, but instead the character portraits were superficial. The plot was not only rather ludicrous, but weak. Thankfully it's a short book with only 180 pages and wide margins. Save your money and read or re-read any of the excellent books in the Thomas Pitt series or William Monk series.

This is a much shorter book than most of those from Anne Perry; it's a piece of light rewading for and about Christmas. The writer takes Aunt Vespasia, one the favourite characters from her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series, and tells the story of one Christmas in her younger days. It isn't exactly a mystery story - a young woman commits suicide and her reasons for doing that seem obvious. But Anne Perry is master of digging beneath the obvious to find the truth beneath the truth.

The result is a tale that flows from an elegant house party in a country mansion north to the frozen snowy wastes of Scotland (and Anne Perry lives in northern Scotland so we can assume she knows whereof she speaks). It's a pilgrimage of sorts, with Vespasia and her friend Isobel toiling through storms and snowdrifts to find the mother of the dead woman and, incidentally the truth behind the suicide.

The only thing spoiling this good story is the overly moralistic tone that Anne Perry is increasingly becoming bogged down in. Of course you want characters with deep motivation - some pure, some mistaken, some evil - and the battle between good and evil always makes for good plot structure. But Anne Perry does tend to overdo it, leaving the reader wondering if she can stand being swamped beneath so many layers of virtue and morality.

Before reading this book, please take the time to be prepared to understand the social attributes of 19th century England, and especially for the gentry social class. Life for these people was honor bound, but also extremely chauvinistic. As a result, I gave this book a 4 star rating, simply because two women would not necessarily be allowed to do what Lady Vespasia and Isobel set out to do alone had it not been fiction.

However, I found this book charming, as well as one that could talk to our senses of morality, charity, love and friendship. Friendship is either a trust situation, or not, and this book addresses that nicely. Having everything conclude at Christmas helped tie in the friendship aspect of the Blessed Season, and for that, I was appreciative.

A short book ... a novella really. Won't take long to read! May I suggest listening to the audio version? Terrence Hardiman does an excellent job reading Perry's book! A real treat hearing a male voice reading a book largely about women!

With the London season over, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould like most of her peers is now looking forward to the Christmas holidays. Vespasia's husband is abroad on business and her children remain in London while she attends a party at Applecross, home of friend Omegus Jones. Vespasia feels good about life in general, but hers in particular as she reflects that her nation is prospering in the peace of the middle of the century though rumors fly that war in the Crimea is imminent.

However, at a gala, Vespasia's friend Isobel Alvie's behaves is rather spiteful and nasty especially towards widow Gwendolyn Kilmuir. The next day, Gwendolyn is found dead, apparently having jumped off a bridge. Everyone blames the tragedy on acrimonious Isobel due to her cruel words so no one will talk to the "culprit" except Vespasia. A despondent remorseful Isobel accompanied by her only loyal friend Vespasia journey to Scotland to offer sympathy to Gwendolyn's mother where they will learn the truth behind the suicide and the true meaning of friendship.

A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY may be a mid nineteenth century tale, but the deep messages remain valuable in today's society. The story line is kept from being light fluff by a strong cast especially the two lead women that brings to life the era yet also relates the true meaning of friendship "never fades" regardless. Fans of Anne Perry or just the time period will appreciate this charming holiday story.

Harriet Klausner

Just in time for Christmas, for the fans of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mystery series, Anne Perry has constructed a delightful Victorian mystery featuring one of its more interesting characters, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould.

Lady Vespasia is entertaining her highborn friends at Applecross for a holiday weekend of games, good food and romance, when one of her guests commits suicide --- the victim of the waspish tongue of another. The group is stunned and outraged and demands some sort of revenge. At the urging of her good friend, Omegus Jones, Vespasia suggests to the somewhat less than recalcitrant harpy that perhaps she should atone for her foul deed with an unusual act of expiation. In front of the gathered group, she suggests that she should embark on the long and possibly dangerous journey to northern Scotland to inform the victim's mother of her daughter's sad demise. Not only that, but she should bring the grieving mother back to attend.

In order to make certain this task of medieval origins is completed, Vespasia offers to accompany her friend on the journey. Vespasia, her friend, the victim and her mother are revealed to have secrets in their pasts that come to light as the journey progresses. Perhaps the suicide is something more than meets the eye.

Perry spins a tale of intrigue lavishly adorned with Victoriana and moral conundrums. One almost wishes that expiation were a way of meting out deserved punishment in our times.

--- Reviewed by Roz Shea

I picked up this book tonight to read it and made it almost all the way through before I realized I had read it before. It made little or no impression on me at the time, because I certainly didn't remember having read it and I did not remember how it turned out.

In this little book, Anne Perry focuses on Aunt Vespasia of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels. The book occurs when Vespasia is a young woman and she is a guest at a week-end party when one of the attendees commits suicide after an insulting remark made by one of the other attendees.

This book is not really so much of a mystery as a journey-- in undertaking a journey to tell the mother of the young suicide victim of her daughter's death, Vespasia also takes a journey into her own past. Its main interest is more in its picture of the times and the emptiness of women's lives-- how horrible it must have been to be a member of the upper class and have nothing to occupy your time but attend parties and snipe at each other. This book made me wonder if women of that time really had friends or if they spent their entire lives in the loneliness of a crowd.

The book itself is a pleasant enough little diversion-- and I probably would have given it more stars if it had just left more of an impression. As it is, I have the feeling that in about a year, I could probably pick it up again and re-read it, having forgotten that I have already read it-- twice.