Christmas Bells

A Novel

By: Jennifer Chiaverini

Narrated by: Christina Moore

New York Times best-selling author Jennifer Chiaverini celebrates Christmas past and present with a wondrous novel inspired by the classic poem "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I heard the bells on Christmas Day / Their old familiar carols play / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

In 1860 the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow's classic Revolutionary War poem, "Paul Revere's Ride", was less than a month hence, and the country's grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.

In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia's music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children's choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.

Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow's family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow's patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. "Christmas Bells", the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn.

©2015 Jennifer Chiaverini (P)2015 Recorded Books

Good Read

This book is very well written. I found the juxtaposition of the two families at two different historical and cultural families lives quite intriguing.

Intelligent novel

I traditionally choose a novel set during Christmas to read or listen to during this season. Christmas Bells is an intelligent, lovely story within a story. The novel includes modern and historical stories. This book does not disappoint.

A Fabulous Book

This is a book I could listen to several times. The narrator is perfect. A great Christmas story!

The author was able to weave different story lines into one cohesive interesting novel.

The author developed each character fully with details to help the reader understand the emotions and trials of the individual family units.

Beautifully expressed

Beautiful spoken and luvved the back and forth between two eras and families .The writer and speaker captured the spirit of Christmas

sucked me in

this story became like listening to an insider peek into people I know. I've listened to the story three times already. BRAVO

enjoyed

easy , relaxing and yet informative. love all of Jennifer's books especially the Quilter Camps..wish she would write more.

Nice story, too much stuff to fill the pages.

I enjoyed this book, but there were times when I felt there were too many side stories. I wanted more of Henry Longfellow’s story.

Forced

The historical facts on Longfellow and his family, as well as the historical events and people in his life were well written, interesting and had a nice flow. It’s unfortunate Chiaverini felt the need to entwine it with the modern fictional story. That interrupted the flow of Longfellow’s story and was unnecessary.

Never quite came together

This book tastes in different time periods. I never quite figured out how the related to ea h other. I almost stopped reading it several times but I finally got through it. I have read almost all of the author’s other books and enjoyed them very much. Just not this one.