Jenny Overton (1) (1942–2017)

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/creed-country-by-jenny-overton/

This is about two teenagers doing local history research in a corner of south-eastern England in the late 1960s. That may not hook you immediately, but it was a book that had a big impression on me when I was a kid. The two protagonists are Stephen the vicar’s son and an only child, and Sarah, in the middle of a large Catholic family, recently arrived from the North.

Stephen has been quietly transcribing the correspondence of show more the historical local landlords, whose sixteenth-century forebears were riven by family and religious tensions, and also enduring his parents’ efforts to inflict a social life on him; his friendship with Sarah goes through peaks and quite painful troughs, as they find the physical legacy of the Creed family in the countryside around them.

Some may find the supposed historical documents being recounted at length a bit too much (see spoilery review in Kirkus); I loved them as a younger reader, and I love them now, and perhaps it inspired me a bit in my own long-past historical research and my current project of putting my grandmother’s memoirs online here. But it’s also a good record of the fragility of friendship, as a teenager or at any other time of one’s life.

I also appreciated again the vivid and efficient portrayal of Stephen and Sarah’s very different families. Sometimes you can say a lot with a little; when an ancient tombstone is uncovered, and it turns out to be that of one of the key figures in the sixteenth-century part of the story, the chapter ends with “She [Sarah] looked at Stephen, and then quickly looked away again.” show less

This book is about how the song the 12 days of Christmas could have come about. Francis is in love with Annaple and Annaple's siblings would really like her to get married so they suggest to Francis that he be a little more romantic when choosing a Christmas gift for Annaple and they give him some suggestions. For 12 days the gifts get more and more extravagant.
I really, really liked this book! I liked the setting of a small town. I loved reading about all the old fashioned traditions that show more people used to do. There was a different tradition for each day after Christmas.
It was so funny! Annaple makes the kids bathe in milk because they have so much of it. At one point "Neighbours whose windows overlooked the street were hiring out places - 'Excellent views, comfortable chairs, and a cup of apple juice on the house.'" It becomes like a festival with everyone gathering and people bringing food.
It was such an entertaining read and fairly short at 150 pages. I'm looking forward to adding it to my Christmas collection. show less

Annaple Kitson is the oldest daughter of the Kitson family and is generally in charge of running the household. Unfortunately her cooking is not the best so the others are rather keen on the idea of her falling in love and getting married. Francis Vere is very much in love with her and wants to marry her, but Annaple has dreams of romance. Annaple's brothers and sisters decide to lend Francis a helping hand when it comes to a few grand romantic gestures. And so on Christmas day Francis turns show more up with an odd present. A partridge. In a pear tree. And that's just the beginning.

You see where this is going, right?

What follows is a delightful, giddy, hilariously chaotic tale of ancient Christmas carols and traditions and a determined young man out to win his true live and invent something new in the process. Beautifully written with a light touch by Overton and gorgeously illustrated by Shirley Hughes, this is a perfect Christmas read. show less

I loved this book about two sisters, their bakery family and the choices they faced in life - safe marriages, having a trade, marrying for love, appearances, getting an education. Set in Georgian England, it is about strong family connections and friendships and people looking out for each other. There are songs and Saints' days interwoven in the plot and a lot of baking. Couldn't put it down.