The Holly and the Ivy [Mass Market Paperback]

Elisabeth Fairchild (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up

Mary Rivers's Gran has predicted a wonderful Christmas in London. And when their usually prickly neighbor, Lord Balfour, is increasingly attentive, Gran's prediction may come true--if the merry Mary and the thorny Lord can weather a scandalous misunderstanding and a chaotic Christmas Eve ball!

"An outstanding talent." --Romantic Times

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elisabeth Fairchild is half English and considers the British Isles her second home. With a degree in advertising from North Texas State University, Fairchild worked for ten years in advertising before writing full-time. She lives just outside Dallas with her best friend and husband, George, and their two dogs.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451198417
• ISBN-13: 978-0451198419
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,640,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A slow starter but worth it., July 18, 2006

By 

J. Lesley "(Judy)" (Midsouth, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Holly and the Ivy (Mass Market Paperback)

I really had to make myself keep reading this book because it was such a slow starter. Ultimately, I'm exceedingly glad I stayed with it and finished the book. Once I got into the feel and atmosphere I literally could not put it down until I had finished it.

Lord Balfour is not your typical Regency buck. He is short (at least by hero standards) at 5'8" which means that he actually looks Mary Rivers in the eye. He is blind as a bat and doesn't know that his squinting looks like scowling and so adds to his reputation as Lord Thorn (his middle name is Thornton). He is completely self centered (but that is actually a defense mechanism caused by his very unhappy childhood) and expects total perfection from everyone around him. Oh, and by the way, he hates Christmas.

Enter Mary Rivers, come to London from Glastonbury to stay with her Gran because it is her turn to do so. Gran is thought by her family to be very well off but Mary finds this is not true and she has to economize without making Gran suspicious because Gran is ill. Previous Rivers daughters have stayed with Gran for the Christmas season and have been treated to many expensive pleasures so Gran's lack of funds is a recent thing. I got confused by the name thing in the beginning. Was she Merry or Mary? Later on I figured out where the author was coming from but boy, oh boy, was it ever subtle! Mary is just what Balfour can't stand, always happy and smiling for no apparent reason.

It took a long time for me to warm up to Lord Balfour because the author took so long to explain about Temple (and I had a problem knowing that there was Temple the elder and Temple the younger). If Ms Fairchild had been a little more revealing a lot sooner, I would have just fallen right in with this story and moved right along. As it was, I had to fight to make myself continue reading until I understood where Lord Balfour was coming from. Mary was always an easy character as was Gran. I really liked this book once I got involved. It is full of surprises and the character of Lord Balfour grows tremendously. He has to act like a terrible heel before he realizes what he has lost and then fight like crazy to right his mistake. Ms. Fairchild really invented a man with a load of problems and then allowed him to work through them and come out victorious. This book is essentially about the hero but without the right heroine he would never have been redeemed.

Highly recommended. Just don't get impatient with it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A most excellent Christmas feast, January 3, 2000

By 

D Gawedzinski - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Holly and the Ivy (Mass Market Paperback)

I confess I rarely read romance novels, but Ms Fairchild's deft descriptions and beautifully embroidered characters pull me in to her regency world, and I find myself wanting to turn off the phone and languish in the sights and smells of a long-ago Christmas. Best of all, though, are her characters--exquisitely layered, complex, and yet touching and real. Roll over, Jane Austen! Ms. Fairchild has a gift for writing, and it's a gift you'll savor unwrapping, even after the holidays are over.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Holly and the Ivy (Mass Market Paperback)

Ms. Fairchild has done it again--provided us with a wonderful story written in her uniquely lyrical style. Merry Mary is my kind of heroine--stromg yet vulnerable and "Lord Thorn" is eminently worthy of love and a lustful thought or two. If you're a Regency fan, you'll want to treat yourself to this Christmas gift.