The Gifts of Christmas: A Handful of Gold/ A Drop of Frankincense/ A Touch of Myrrh (Paperback)

~ Mary Balogh (Author), (Author), Suzanne Barclay (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Travel to historic England in stories linked by gold, frankincense and myrrh--the gifts of the Magi. A Handful of Gold takes the reader to Regency England, a period for which author Mary Balogh is well known and universally loved. Here, handsome Julian Dare opts to spend his Christmas holiday in one last sensual fling before acceding to his family's wish to see him married. But the beautiful woman he asks to accompany him, Verity Ewing, turns out to be not only virginal but romantically irresistible and Julian's holiday has unexpected results.

In Merline Lovelace's A Drop of Frankincense, a marriage of convenience becomes a truly passionate relationship when beautiful and daring Lady Margaret tricks Sir Christopher into a night of lovemaking. The unforgettable hours spent in each other's arms have heavy consequences, earning the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth and endangering both their lives.

A Touch of Myrrh by Suzanne Barclay finds Lord William Sommerville, a knight who has vowed never to love again, irresistibly drawn to mesmerizing Rosemary Bainbridge. But Rosemary has ruthless enemies and before William can save her, he must first solve a riddle and face the darkness in his own heart.

These wonderful stories are equally strong, warm, and well written, while remaining uniquely individual. If you haven't already had the pleasure of reading the authors included here, The Gifts of Christmas is a lovely way to sample their writing styles. --Lois Faye Dyer

Product Description

These talented authors will sweep readers away to a special world where three wise heroes discover that love is the most precious gift of all. "The Gifts of Christmas" is an enchanting historical Christmas title that will captivate readers and transport them to another time and place as they indulge in the seasonal delights of the Christmas holiday in Regency, Elizabethan, and medieval England and share in the discovery of unforgettable love. Stories include Balogh's "A Handful of Gold", Lovelace's "A Drop of Frankincense", and Barclay's "A Touch of Myrrh".

Product Details

• Paperback: 377 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373833725
• ISBN-13: 978-0373833726
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,417,404 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #74 in

  Books > Romance > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Lovelace, Merline

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A collection of loosely-themed short stories, November 9, 2006

By	Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is a compendium of three very different short stories all with a Christmas theme. The stories are all related to the gifts that the Wise Men brought in the Christmas story - gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Mary Balogh story is called "A Handful of Gold" and it was definitely the best story of the three. It features Viscount Folingsby, a twenty eight year old man still keen on sowing his wild oats but knowing his family want him to settle down and marry the woman they have picked out for him. Rather than join his family - and his potential bride's family - at Christmas he decides to go and stay in a hunting box with his friend, his friend's mistress, and of course his own mistress. Except he doesn't currently have one. He decides to persuade the well-known opera dancer Blanche Heyward to come with him and offers her £500 to spend the Christmas week with him. She accepts, but things aren't always as they seem - Blanche is really Verity Ewing who is trying to earn some money to pay for her sister's medical bills. Verity understands the enormity of whoring herself out to a rake but it's the only way that she can take care of her sister. However, the visit to the hunting box doesn't go quite as expected and Viscount Folingsby soon realises his mistress for the Christmas week is rather more than he had imagined. It's a fun story making the most of Christmas traditions (Yule logs, wassail, snow etc) but touching two.

"A drop of frankincense" is the story by Merline Lovelace. It's set in the time of Sir Frances Drake where one of his sea captains, Sir Kit Walsh, is on the verge of his marriage being dissolved. This is because he married a young woman seven years ago but has never slept with her - she was an ill, sickly thing and he only married her to please her dying father. He's happy that the marriage will be over, especially as Queen Elizabeth has taken rather a shine to him and doesn't want him to be married. However, when he returns home on leave and finds an unknown woman in his bed smelling of a special perfume including frankincense, things get rather more complicated. The history of Drake and the Spanish Armada occurs in this story and it's an interesting read.

"A touch of myrrh" is the story by Suzanne Barclay, set in the 14th Century. Rosemary is an apothecary whose important special ingredients, including myrrh, have been held up in a warehouse following the death of the merchant. She is frantic to receive her supplies else she will go out of business but the owner of the warehouse, Lord William Sommerville, thinks she is a thief when she tries to break in. He is investigating the death of the trader and knows there is more to the problem of murdered merchants than meets the eye. William is heartbroken following the death of his fiancée, can Rosemary help to mend his heart? This was the weakest of the three stories - although an interesting read I couldn't really fully believe in my characters and their problems.

All in all it's a reasonable collection but it's not particularly festive (apart from the Mary Balogh story) and there are other better Christmas collections.