The theme helps with that because I’m a sucker for a Christmas story but these tales are not all about cosy fireside nostalgia. Each writer has brought their own individual take to the winter season and the result is anything but boring.
Ian Bristow tells a tale of guilt and redemption in eighth century Saxony. Brenda Clough takes us to sixteenth century Denmark amidst spirits, legends and the beginning of a love story. Duskin Hill’s writing evokes winter hardship in early America but also a sense of family and homecoming. Ana Brazil has given us a lovely reworking of Dickens’ traditional Christmas Carol which I particularly enjoyed. Ronan Beckman’s offering is a story of boyhood and friendship across cultural differences in nineteenth century New Zealand. D Apple’s fun Christmas ghost story is a follow-up to the one featured in Hauntings, an earlier anthology.
My two personal favourites in this anthology are very different. I Saw Three Ships by Eleanor Swift-Hook is an excellent story of seventeenth century adventure and espionage which made me want to know what happens next. In Christmas Reminiscences, Samantha Wilcoxson has written a gentle tale set during the reign of Henry VII, full of memories, regrets but also present content during the Christmas Season.
All the stories are well-written, entertaining and original. I highly recommend Echoes of Winter for fireside reading during the cold evenings. It’s lovely.
Echoes of Winter: A Seasonal Anthology of Historical Fiction Short Stories is the fifth anthology from the Historical Writers Forum and appropriately it has a wintery theme. As always the stories span the centuries and travel the world. I’ve read all of these anthologies and I think this is one of my favourites.
