Since I’ve been in a Victorian mood lately, with working on my literary scholarship about Dickens and researching the Victorian era in general, I wanted to focus on winter books with some of the same themes you’ll find in Christmas at Hembry Castle, stories about love and loss, memory and redemption, the pull of history and the ghosts that never quite fade away.
I’ve learned over many years not to engage in the rush and bustle of a hectic Christmas season. As a result, the world feels slower in winter for me. Here in Southern Nevada, we haven’t had much rain yet this winter. Actually, the weather has been unseasonably warm. Still, we’ve had some cloudy days when the wind hums at the windowpanes. Winter is the most introverted season, and it’s a time to immerse ourselves in wonderful stories. To add to my Victorian ambiance, I’ve been eschewing electric lights and instead I’ve been reading by the light of my fireplace and a few flickering candles.
Not all of the books I’m recommending are set specifically in the Victorian era, but they all carry warmth, depth, and shadow. These are stories of snowbound manors, found families, spectral visitations, and second chances.
Victorian Era Winter Reading
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
You had to know I was going to recommend Dickens at Christmas time. I know how much we all love the various film adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but you should read the book too. It’s a novella at 30,000 words, so it’s one of Dickens’s shorter works, and there’s a reason it’s such a classic. This is the eternal story of ghosts and grace. Scrooge’s redemption never loses its power, no matter how many times I read or see it. This is one story I reread every December.
The Chimes and The Haunted Man by Charles Dickens
I mentioned in a previous post that Dickens wrote several Christmas books, of which A Christmas Carol was his first and his best. The Chimes and The Haunted Man are two of his lesser-known Christmas tales where memory, regret, and forgiveness shimmer against a London winter.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
A governess, two children, and something, or someone, watching from the window. What’s not to love about that? The Turn of the Screw is the quintessential Victorian ghost story.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
I loved Collins’s The Moonstone, and I loved The Woman in White just as much. The Woman in White is considered one of the first full-length mystery novels in the English language. Secrets, mistaken identities, and moonlit corridors make this a perfect companion for fans of Gothic suspense.
Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
I loved the television series, and I’m so glad I read the book too. Cranford is a cozy, humorous glimpse of small-town life and women’s quiet resilience.
Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope
This is another warm-hearted love story full of English country gossip, moral fortitude, and slow-burning affection. There’s also a wonderful television adaptation.
Gothic Romance and Ghosts
The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon
I’ve only just started reading The Winter People and I love it so far. The Winter People is a haunting New England tale where snow, grief, and the supernatural intertwine, themes I’ve written about myself.
The Thirteenth Tale and Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield
Both of these books are five-star reads for me. The Thirteenth Tale is about storytellers, ghosts, and the lies we tell to survive. Once Upon a River is about a mysterious girl who returns to life after drowning in the River Thames. Both of these books are modern masterpieces.
Snow, Solitude, and Second Chances
Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher
This was my first Rosamund Pilcher book. A friend recommended it and I’m so glad I took a chance, especially since this isn’t the kind of book I would usually gravitate toward. It just goes to show that sometimes we should push ourselves beyond our reading comfort zones because we never know what gems we might find. Winter Solstice is about found family, forgiveness, and hope in the wonderful setting of the Scottish Highlands.
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Snow Child is a ten-star book for me, I loved it that much. The story is based on a Russian fairytale reimagined into 1920s Alaska. It is a haunting, beautiful, and bittersweet story where the line between real and imagined is blurred.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
Here Thomas recalls his childhood Christmases in Wales. This is lyrical nostalgia at its finest and best enjoyed read aloud by the fire. I loved the audiobook, which has Thomas himself narrating. You can find the ebook on Amazon for just 99 cents.
Timeless Romance for Long Winter Nights
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
Industrial England meets compassion and courage. Margaret Hale and John Thornton’s slow-burning affection warms any cold night. This is another Elizabeth Gaskell favorite. Just as a fun FYI, her novels were published by Dickens in his periodicals.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
This is one of my favorites by Austen. I love Anne Elliot’s story of a renewed love and second chances, and if you’ve been following me for any amount of time you’ll know my James Wentworth was named after Captain Wentworth. For me, this is Austen’s most introspective and winter appropriate novel.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
A Gothic-tinged tale of morality, resilience, and a woman’s independence. In full disclosure, I haven’t read this yet, but it’s next on my TBR list.
The Night Before Christmas by Nikolai Gogol
A mischievous Russian folktale where devils and lovers meet beneath a starlit winter sky. If you love Russian literature as I do, give this one a try.
Winter weather gives me an excuse to indulge in the hibernation I love this time of year. Winter is a season for quiet, candlelight, and the companionship of new friends discovered in the pages of the books I’m reading. Each of these stories reminds us of what endures the changing of the seasons–love, forgiveness, and the promise of new growth after the snow melts away.
