Christmas Anthology Stories

Here is a charming Christmas tale about a young woman staying with her aunt in rural New England. When Sophie invites her high-society friends to visit her and Aunt Pemy, they quickly - and much to their delight - discover that there's much more to country life than they had ever imagined.

In 'Rumpole and the Boy', Rumpole has recently concluded a blackmail case when he finds himself babysitting a small boy. Edmund turns out to have a keen interest in criminal cases and he throws some unexpected light on the case Rumpole has just tried. Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

With one band of gold, Prince Andres of Petras can erase his past - albeit pleasurable - sins. But his prospective bride is untamable Princess Zara, so the playboy prince must seduce her into compliance and crown her by Christmas!

Rumpole and the Health Farm Murder finds the corpulent barrister spending a most untypical Christmas at a health spa, where he is gloomily trying to survive on a not-so-festive diet of yak's milk and steamed spinach. He is soon enlivened, however, when a murder is committed and he is asked to represent the chief suspect. Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

In separate vignettes, we meet Katherine, who is taking care of her ailing husband; Julianna, juggling with construction paper, scissors, and rubber cement in a room full of high-spirited four-year-olds; Adrianna, struggling with the difficulties of marriage; Cassandra, tending her toddlers; Victoria, searching for a love to call her own; Alexandra, waiting for word from her doctor about an uncertain diagnosis; and Isabella, discovering the gift of motherhood.

A hot holiday toy that brings terror to a department store. A man caught in a blizzard as he searches for help for a dying friend. A girl who wakes up to surprise visitors on Día de los Muertos. A man who recounts a sick and twisted Thanksgiving. A boy who becomes intrigued by a mysterious house and the girl who resides there during fall break. A family man who struggles with a dilemma that may cost him his soul.

A collection of original Christmas short stories and three retellings.

Turn down the lights, throw a log on the fire, and settle down with this enchanting collection of feature-length Christmas tales. From a dizzying adventure in the snow to a chilling Victorian ghost yarn, Christmas Tails delights, frights, and amuses in equal measure. Inside you'll find four bite-sized stories full to the brim with Christmas cheer. Warm up the mulled wine, take the phone off the hook and prepare for a yuletide treat!

Nothing puts a damper on the Christmas spirit more than a fluffy white rooster named Sweetie. Reginald and his flock plot to serve the big bully a helping of humble pie with the aid of their fellow farm animals and some creative storytelling. Will they end up on Santa's naughty list? Or Martha's stewpot? And can they teach a humbug how to get along?

Four favorite Australian authors present a heartwarming collection of festive stories about finding love on the farm this Christmas.

A delightful collection of Christmas stories from different generations of one family, set in Belfast from 1914 to 2021.

Kat saw the warning signs that her marriage was on the brink of collapse. The pressure of middle-class existence, an absent sex life, and a husband about to lose his job all spelled disaster. In a last-ditch effort to save their marriage, she hatched a plan to remind Ethan of their sexier days. First, she convinced him to take her on his next business trip. Second, she mailed a negligee to the lodge where they would be staying. Third, she had to figure out which model Ethan gave the negligee to when he didn't realize it was for her.

Christmas needn't only be about good cheer. The audiobook includes four festive tales of the supernatural, apocalyptic, and blood-sucking variety - an antidote for anyone who occasionally finds Christmas overly sentimental or commercialized and likes to escape to somewhere darker.

A magical selection of stories for Christmas time

Christmas with Princess Mirror-Belle features two festive stories from Julia Donaldson. Ellen gets a big shock when her reflection climbs out of a mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess, and a very mischievous one at that. Join Mirror-Belle as she sweeps Ellen into hilarious Christmassy escapades - from joining in with the Christmas ballet show to attending Ellen's friend's fancy-dress party and trying to catch Father Christmas!

Attorney Desiree Contando can think of only one word to describe her very first home: disaster. The vintage Queen Anne is beautiful - or will be, in about 1,000 years. Certainly not in time to host the family Christmas gathering. “Disaster” also describes the bad breakup that left her picket-fence vision in tatters. Even the carpenter she’s hired is a reminder of lost dreams - the high school crush who never spared her a passing glance. But she’s a grown-up now, perfectly capable of keeping things professional.

In spite of a brief experimentation early in their relationship, Doc and Carrie Baumgartner have since maintained a monogamous marriage without too much difficulty or even temptation - until now. A move far from home, coupled with new friends and long hours away from each other, have left the young Baumgartner couple on shaky ground. Doc believes bringing in someone "new" like they did early in their relationship might add just the spice their marriage needs, but Carrie isn't so sure about that plan.

As soon as Eric met Suzy, he knew he wanted to marry her. However, telling her turned out to be much harder than he thought. Take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane this Christmas as we revisit Eric and Suzy's early days in this wonderfully romantic short story from the Peas and Carrots universe. Laugh and commiserate with Eric as, once again, he lurches from one crisis to another as he desperately tries to execute the perfect proposal.

After the death of his brother, Robert not only becomes Viscount Landers but also gives up his army career and agrees to marry his brother's beautiful fiancé to ensure the succession. When he's snowed in for Christmas with his shrewish betrothed and her attractive but practical cousin, Eleanor Carlisle, Robert realizes he's engaged to the wrong woman. As the temperature plunges, the heat is on Viscount Landers to untangle the ties of duty and the wishes of the heart.

"A Christmas Dinner" is a perfect demonstration of Dickens' attitude towards the redemptive power of Christmas and the Christmas spirit. This is a lovely short story well worth listening to alongside his more famous writings about the holidays.