A Christmas Beginning: A Novel (edition 2007)

by Anne Perry

Series: Christmas (5)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
314	16	83,123	(3.41)	19
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. Superintendent Runcorn�??who Anne Perry fans will remember as William Monk's ex-boss�??is feeling rather lonely during his holiday on the remote, snowy island of Anglesey, off the north coast of Wales. However, he is suddenly called into action when the sister of the local vicar is discovered murdered and draped over a gravestone in her brother's churchyard. Investigating this tragic crime with the assistance of the beautiful Melisande gives him just the opportunity he needs to spend time with an upper class woman who normally wouldn't give him the time of day. Interweaving the original Christmas story with her own holiday tale, Perry also explores the meaning of Joseph's secondary role compared to that of Mary and… (more)

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Member:	joantracy
Title:	A Christmas Beginning: A Novel
Authors:	Anne Perry
Info:	Ballantine Books (2007), Hardcover, 208 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
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A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry

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Showing 1-5 of 16 (next | show all)

Another lovely novel from the Victorian Christmas range. It really hit me reading this book how the class system has much less weight than it used to, or it seems that way to me at least. I think a police rank would be far more respected across the board now than in those days. I am so glad that a happy ending was arrived at - although we could have been treated to a bit more detail but that is being sentimental. In reality a whole new book could be written as a follow up... (

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Susan-Pearson | Feb 23, 2023 |

I enjoyed the book but the conclusion was rather sudden. (

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Wren73 | Mar 4, 2022 |

This book helped the reader get more insight into a character in the Monk series: Runcorn. Very enjoyable. (

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Chrissylou62 | Aug 1, 2020 |

The class consciousness that overlays this story is very distasteful. It is intrusive. It is repetitive. And it takes away from the story which is quite well done. As usual, Perry does an excellent job of scene setting. Her "warm rooms" are very inviting and the biting winds suggest a sweater to the reader. (

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DeaconBernie | Jan 8, 2019 |

I've been reading this series out of order as I find the books. I don't see that it makes a difference in the telling of the stories. This one took a while to bring all of the characters into view and with substance. I felt for a while it dragged and then half way through the book the story got a shot of espresso and information was flying at the reader. Non fact, I had to re-read portions to get people and situations in order. It really does get good but I think I'll re-read it just to glean information or hints I missed in the beginning. (

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whybehave2002 | Dec 8, 2018 |

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▾Other authors

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Anne Perry	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Galian, Carl	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Hankins & Tegenborgm Ltd.	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Hardiman, Terrence	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Rafton, Aleta	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Christmas (5)

Is contained in

Anne Perry's Silent Nights [A Christmas Beginning / A Christmas Grace] by Anne Perry

A Christmas Secret | A Christmas Beginning by Anne Perry

Five Christmas Mysteries by Anne Perry

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Canonical title

A Christmas Beginning

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2007-10-30

People/Characters

Runcorn, Superintendent of Scotland Yard

Important places

Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales, UK

Menai Bridge, Wales, UK

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Important events

Victorian Era (1837 | 1901)

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

So this was the Isle of Anglesey.

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

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Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. Superintendent Runcorn�??who Anne Perry fans will remember as William Monk's ex-boss�??is feeling rather lonely during his holiday on the remote, snowy island of Anglesey, off the north coast of Wales. However, he is suddenly called into action when the sister of the local vicar is discovered murdered and draped over a gravestone in her brother's churchyard. Investigating this tragic crime with the assistance of the beautiful Melisande gives him just the opportunity he needs to spend time with an upper class woman who normally wouldn't give him the time of day. Interweaving the original Christmas story with her own holiday tale, Perry also explores the meaning of Joseph's secondary role compared to that of Mary and

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