Winter's Wishfall
The Most Heartwarming, Magical Christmas Tale You'll Read This Year
Published on 12. October 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
400 pages
978-1-78530-551-1 (ISBN)
Description
You're never too old to believe . . .
After losing her job, boyfriend and flat just a few weeks before Christmas, Ellie Lancaster makes some resolutions:
1. Exact revenge on ex.
2. Be unboring.
3. Find a job.
With #1 complete, Ellie manages to tick off #2 and #3 simultaneously by accepting a mysterious archiving job on a tiny Scottish Island that doesn't seem to exist on any map.
In the new year, her equally new bosses - celebrity baker Clementine Jones and her straight-laced twin brother Cole - introduce Ellie to the archives: a vast network of underground caverns, filled with scrolls dating back centuries, each addressed to the same person, in a multitude of languages: Dear Father Christmas . . .
Despite the strangeness of it all, Ellie quickly falls in love with her new life - but things are never simple, and just as she and Cole seem to be overcoming their mutual distrust, Ellie makes a fourth resolution - one that threatens everything she's come to hold dear. As the big day itself draws near, she has one chance to put things right and bring about her own Christmas miracle . . .
'A heart-warming, magical story, bright with festive folklore and kindness, perfect to cosy up with this winter' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear
After losing her job, boyfriend and flat just a few weeks before Christmas, Ellie Lancaster makes some resolutions:
1. Exact revenge on ex.
2. Be unboring.
3. Find a job.
With #1 complete, Ellie manages to tick off #2 and #3 simultaneously by accepting a mysterious archiving job on a tiny Scottish Island that doesn't seem to exist on any map.
In the new year, her equally new bosses - celebrity baker Clementine Jones and her straight-laced twin brother Cole - introduce Ellie to the archives: a vast network of underground caverns, filled with scrolls dating back centuries, each addressed to the same person, in a multitude of languages: Dear Father Christmas . . .
Despite the strangeness of it all, Ellie quickly falls in love with her new life - but things are never simple, and just as she and Cole seem to be overcoming their mutual distrust, Ellie makes a fourth resolution - one that threatens everything she's come to hold dear. As the big day itself draws near, she has one chance to put things right and bring about her own Christmas miracle . . .
'A heart-warming, magical story, bright with festive folklore and kindness, perfect to cosy up with this winter' Sophie Anderson, author of The House with Chicken Legs and The Girl Who Speaks Bear
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bonnier Books Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
298 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78530-551-1 (9781785305511)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ceri Houlbrook is a Folklore and History Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, and has published academic books and articles on contemporary folklore and domestic rituals. Winter's Wishfall is her debut novel and combines her academic interests with her love of magical realism and creative writing.
She lives in Manchester with her fellow-adventurer husband and their little pirate, Captain Jojo.
She lives in Manchester with her fellow-adventurer husband and their little pirate, Captain Jojo.