A Christmas Hope, Anne Perry
A Christmas Hope, Anne Perry
2 Rating(s)
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

A Christmas Hope

Author: Anne Perry

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 4 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/12/2013


Synopsis

Anne Perry's "vastly entertaining" (Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger) holiday novels are "as delicious as mince pie and plum pudding" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). A Christmas Hope is just as delectable, the gripping story of an unforgettable battle between goodness and evil in Victorian London—and a lonely woman's search for meaning in her life.Claudine Burroughs, a volunteer in Hester Monk's clinic for sick and injured prostitutes, no longer expects closeness with her coldly ambitious husband and dreads the holidays. Then, at a glittering Yuletide gala, she meets the attractive poet Dai Tregarron, and suddenly her spirits lift. But an hour later, this fascinating man is enmeshed in a nightmare—accused of killing a young streetwalker who had been smuggled into the party.Even though she suspects that an upper-class clique is quickly closing ranks to protect the real killer, Claudine and the clinic's disreputable bookkeeper, Squeaky Robinson, vow to do their utmost for Dai. It seems, however, that hypocritical London society would rather send an innocent poet to the gallows than expose the shocking truth about one of their own.Nevertheless, it's the season of miracles, and Claudine and Squeaky finally see a glimmer of hope—not only for Dai but for an innocent young woman teetering on the brink of a lifetime of unhappiness. Anne Perry's heartwarming new holiday novel is a celebration of courage, faith, and love for all seasons.

About Anne Perry

Sometimes the personal story of a particular author seems almost as intriguing as the books they write. Such is the life of British author Anne Perry (aka Juliet Marion Hulme). As a child Hulme was very ill with tuberculosis and ended up being fostered out by a family in the Caribbean. She did get better, and the family moved to a private island in New Zealand, where she describes her life as a Swiss family Robinson type existence. She became ill again and during her bouts of illness through her teen years, she missed most of her childhood education. However, her mother had prepared her by teaching her how to read and write by the time she was four. Her heart always seemed to be in writing.

At the age of 15, Juliet and her best friend plotted and killed her friend's mother. The three went for a walk in the park and Hulme dropped a stone, causing the mother to bend over to pick it up, and her friend hit her own mother on the head with a half brick. They had planned on the strike killing her, but they had to strike her 20 times before she was dead. The girls were put on trial and each served five years in prison. It is said that they never saw each other again after being released. For many years, nobody connected author Anne Perry as the teen murderer, Juliet Hulme. In 1994, the film Heavenly Creatures, portrayed Hulme and her friend Pauline Parker with characters being played by Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey respectively.

Perry's genre of writing covers Victorian Era Detective fiction for the most part. Her novels have been centered around two main characters, Thomas Pitt and William Monk. She has published 47 novels and several collections of stories.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Randi Annie on December 19, 2019

Setting of the story This story is set in Victorian London, even though the year is not specified in this one. It is about Claudine Burroughs, a wealthy woman volunteering in Hester Monk’s charity run Clinique for sick or injured prostitutes. As she has no children of her own, she is trying to find s......more

Goodreads review by Janice on January 06, 2024

A Christmas Hope is one of my favourites of Anne Perry's Christmas novellas. Although I don't clearly remember the main character from Perry's novel, this shorter story about her is exciting and positive in many ways. Still filled with Perry's strong characters and plots, these Christmas novellas ar......more

Goodreads review by Audrey on December 09, 2018

Claudine Burroughs isn't enthused about the upcoming Christmas season. She is married to a cold and harsh man. She would much rather volunteer at a hospital for sick prostitutes then attend the frivolous parties of high society. At one those parties and unfortunate incident occurred. Someone had smu......more

Goodreads review by Niki on December 01, 2017

3.5 would be the right rating. Good plot, good suspense......more


Quotes

“Filled with Christmas spirit and strong suspense, Perry’s latest in her annual holiday series is the perfect present for the season…A Christmas Hope has a strong atmosphere, pertinent details of a Victorian Christmas, and a heartwarming conclusion.” RT Book Reviews

“Set in December 1868, Perry’s well-crafted eleventh Christmas-themed mystery features a character from her William Monk series…A compelling story and lead make this a winner.” Publishers Weekly