Product Description

William Shirburn really isn't into Christmas - all that jingly tinselly presenty stuff makes him feel queasy. He'd prefer to spend it alone watching trash with his cat. But, there's an unwritten law that elderly people are not allowed to be left alone at Christmas, especially if they live in a vast old mansion that could be a gold-mine in the right hands - and William's relatives are very keen to ensure that Haseley House does end up in the right hands! Hilary Watlington intends to ignore Christmas altogether. With Daniel away, she won't have to conceal how desperately she still misses Ben. But widows aren't allowed to spend Christmas alone either and it sounds as if William might need her support. Frances, the nanny, was hoping for a break from spoilt little Tobias and his dreary parents, but now she finds they're off to stay with his eccentric grandfather in some spooky old house in the Cotswolds. Can Hilary possibly be starting to have feelings for another man? And does she know the whole truth about the attractive Oliver Leafield? Will Frances overcome the snobbery that threatens to separate her from Daniel? Or learn which of his relatives it is really safe to trust? And whose name is William going to put on the will-form that they're all so keen for him to complete? This particular family Christmas is going to change everybody's lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #216840 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
'Packed with delightful, unforgettable, eccentric characters and written with humour and deep sensitivity.' Katie Fforde

From the Publisher
Transita books reflect the lives of mature women. Contemporary women with rich and interesting stories to tell, stories that explore the truths and desires that colour their lives.

From the Author
I wrote this book because I liked the idea of creating a modern day P.G. Wodehouse. Christmas seemed an ideal time for a group of conflicting characters, some nice, some quite unpleasant, to be thrown together.

Customer Reviews

Another thoroughly enjoyable Transita outing!
A perfectly-paced, wonderfully witty tale about a nightmare family who come together for a 'proper' family Christmas. William is thier unwilling host along with his extremely clever cat Scratch, and you can't help but love the pair of them.
Some of the family have other reasons for this get-together; they are plotting who should receive William's estate, while William is carted off to a retirement home. As you can imagine, William is no lightweight and outsmarts them all.
What an enjoyable, well-written story by yet another talented Transita author (and sister of best-selling author Katie Fforde, another favourite of mine). This is a perfect Christmas read, whether it's Christmas or not!

Great To Curl Up On The Sofa With!
A light Christmas farce! Hilary & Frances were really likeable, but Lesley....GRRRRRRRR...I absolutely adored Scratch! :o)

Poor old William, all those relatives trying to get him to make his will out in their favour....i was desperate to know who he was gunna leave everything to!

I wont spoil it by telling you who gets the dosh, but lets just say i didnt see it coming!

Really enjoyed reading this during the festive season :o) Another great book from Transita.

Fun and well-written: great combination!
AA Milne once said: "Every critic instantly assumes that, should a writer be able to make his audience laugh, he secretly wishes he were making them cry". Milne didn't always love his critics, but the point is that we shouldn't underestimate the comic writer - I think it's much more difficult to make readers laugh than it is to make them cry, and a comic novel done well is a wonderful thing.

Step forward Jane Gordon-Cumming, and A Proper Family Christmas. I was worried people didn't write books like this any more. Don't get me wrong, I love pensive, slightly depressing, high-literary fiction more than anyone - Virginia Woolf is one of my favourite authors, after all (though she is incredibly funny, I must add) - but where did novels go which gently laugh at human nature and the tangles they get themselves in? Thankfully Jane G-C has written one such novel, and I know you'll love it.

William lives by himself in a rambling old house, such as are only found in fiction - well, I say alone, he actually lives with a rather wonderful cat called Scratch. You can't go wrong with cats in fiction - they're such amusing and characterful creatures. Anyway, William is an obstreperous old man, but one you can't help loving. Despite his best efforts, every member of his family descend on his house for Christmas - his forthright siser Margery; widow Hilary and her attractive teenage son; neurotic Lesley and Stephen with their spoilt child Tobias and put-upon nanny Frances; scatty Julia and innuendo-flinging Tony with worldy-wise daughter Posy and flirty nanny Shelley; arty Leo who seems to be perpetually ignored by all; charmer and antiquities expert Oliver. Phew, think that's everyone. What a cast! Despite a lot of characters and a lot of names, like one's own family one never gets confused. They all have their place and, like them or loathe them, you can't help being quietly fond of each and every one.

This novel is definitely a character piece - throw together a lot of disparate and amusing people, and a few Wodehousian plots, and see what happens. And what happens is a witty and touching romp through the intricacies and politics of a family Christmas. If you don't recognise it all, you're lucky, but you'll love it nonetheless. A perfect Christmas present for someone who loves something to read on Boxing Day, just so long as they can't recognise themselves in its pages... and best not give it to anyone called William, Leo, Margery, Lesley, Stephen, Tony, Shelley, Tobias, Posy, Julia... at a pinch Frances, Oliver, Hilary and Daniel will take it as a compliment...