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The Romance of a Christmas Card (1916)

by Kate Douglas Wiggin

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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756353,257 (3.5)4
"My door is on the latch tonight, The hearth fire is aglow. I seem to hear swift passing feet -- The Christ Child in the snow." Reba, the minister's new wife, was spirited, vigorous, courageous, and clever. She was also invincibly, incurably happy -- so that the minister seemed to grow younger every year. Reba doubled his joys and halved his burdens, tossing them from one of her fine shoulders to the other like feathers. She swept into the quiet village life of Beulah like a salt sea breeze. Now she has a plan -- one involving a few small verses she has penned. For there are rebellious youths and some contention in the church that threatens to split it . . .… (more)
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Reba Larrabee, the wife of the Rev. Larrabee, minister of the Conregational church in Beulah, New Hampshire, effects a heartwarming reconciliation between the generations in this charming Christmas tale, bringing two prodigal sons home to the village through her Christmas cards. The Rev. Larrabee's own son, Dick (Reba's step-son) had long since left the village, tired of his highspirited antics beings judged so harshly, simply because he was the minister's son. David Gilman had also left, after a disastrous and shortlived marriage, abandoning his twin children with his half sister, Letty (Letitia) Boynton. Reba's painting of Letty's cottage, used in two very different Christmas cards, brings both young men home, to the satisfaction of all...

I enjoyed The Romance of a Christmas Card, finding it, much like Kate Douglas Wiggin's The Old Peabody Pew: A Christmas Romance of a Country Church , an entertaining and heartwarming seasonal read. As a minister's child myself, someone who is well aware that such children are often scrutinized and judged to an excessive degree, I found the story-line involving Dick Larrabee quite interesting. I don't know that the book as a whole really moved me that deeply - somehow, I could never really become that deeply involved in the characters' struggles, emotionally speaking - but it was pleasant and sweet, with a satisfactory ending entirely in keeping with the Christmas spirit. Recommended to anyone looking for heartwarming, old-fashioned Christmas stories with a New England flavor. ( )
  AbigailAdams26 | Dec 25, 2019 |
A very unique christmas story based around a small town and it's array of towns people. A christmas card painted of a scene from this town manages to bring it's former residents back and rekindle the love between them and their families. Heart warming and perfect for christmas! 3.5 stars ( )
  LiteraryChanteuse | Jan 27, 2016 |
This is a sweet, but not very memorable story. It also ended a chapter too soon, and I hate it when books do that! The setting is Beulah, Maine, so it features some of the same characters as Mother Carey's Chickens. I was disappointed the Careys didn't make a cameo appearance. ( )
  kathleen586 | Mar 29, 2013 |
The minister grew younger every year, for Reba doubled his joys and halved his burdens, tossing them from one of her fine shoulders to the other as if they were feathers. She swept into the quiet village life of Beulah like a salt sea breeze. She infused a new spirit into the bleak church "sociables" and made them positively agreeable functions. The choir ceased from wrangling, the Sunday School plucked up courage and flourished like a green bay tree. She managed the deacons, she braced up the missionary societies, she captivated the parish, she cheered the depressed and depressing old ladies and cracked jokes with the invalids.

A tale of Christmas cards and family reunions, written by the author of "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm", which I am sure I read as a child although I remember almost nothing about it. It was published in 1916 by but never mentions the World War I as it is set in the USA before it joined the war.

The overt moralising and cloying sentimentality of Victorian and Edwardian books for girls somehow passed me by when I read them as a child, but I find them extremely irritating nowadays. However, in this case, I did like Reba and how she stated her opinion that it was wrong for Letty always to be a prop, expected to support others her whole life, and never be supported by others. She was rather more feisty than the usual minister's wife, while still performing that role very well. ( )
  isabelx | Jan 3, 2013 |
Surprisingly humorous and sweet story about the residents of a small New Hampshire village called Beulah in the 1880s. The pastor's wife designs Christmas cards which find their way into the hands of two people who left Beulah long ago and decide to come back home, looking for forgiveness and a fresh start. ( )
  bookappeal | Dec 30, 2012 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Kate Douglas Wigginprimary authorall editionscalculated
Hunt, Alice ErcleIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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"My door is on the latch tonight, The hearth fire is aglow. I seem to hear swift passing feet -- The Christ Child in the snow." Reba, the minister's new wife, was spirited, vigorous, courageous, and clever. She was also invincibly, incurably happy -- so that the minister seemed to grow younger every year. Reba doubled his joys and halved his burdens, tossing them from one of her fine shoulders to the other like feathers. She swept into the quiet village life of Beulah like a salt sea breeze. Now she has a plan -- one involving a few small verses she has penned. For there are rebellious youths and some contention in the church that threatens to split it . . .

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Available online at The Hathi Trust:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/...

Also available at The Internet Archive:
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Also available at Google Books:
https://books.google.com/books?id=C60E...
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