"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens;
"The Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur Conan Doyle;
The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth;
"The Season of Forgiveness" by Poul Anderson -
- and I am currently reading about Christmas 2078, just sixty years from now, in Julian May's Magnificat. Also, Poul and Karen Anderson's The King Of Ys begins and ends with the Birthday of Mithras.
Because Poul Anderson fans should be interested in Sherlock Holmes, I will now recount that Aileen, our daughter, paid for Sheila and me to attend a dramatization, interrupted by Christmas carols, of "The Blue Carbuncle" in the Shire Hall court room of Lancaster Castle this evening. Watson stood in a witness box to narrate. While he read aloud The Times report of a court case, the witnesses entered the box and spoke.
When Holmes lets the culprit go, he says:
"'I suppose that I am commuting a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul.'"
-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Blue Carbuncle" IN Doyle, Sherlock Holmes Two Complete Adventures (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1994), pp. 96-188 AT p. 187
- thus linking with the theme of "A Christmas Carol."
He also says:
"'Besides, it is the season of forgiveness.'" (ibid.)
Thus, Poul Anderson's Christmas story takes its title from a phrase in Doyle's.
(Another local note: in recent years, Nygel performed an abridged reading of "A Christmas Carol," accompanied by mulled wine, in a nearby library. This year, he is making Father Christmas phone calls to children and hopefully will review a Poul Anderson novel for this blog.)
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
For a long time I used to read Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAST CAROL during the Christmas season, as something it was appropriate to do. But I replaced that with reading Anderson's "The Season of Forgiveness" at this time of year, for the same reason.
And, yes, I have read Sir Arthur's "The Blue Carbuncle." That too is appropriate to read during Christmas time.
And your comments about Nygel makes me wonder how people would react to him reading aloud Anderson's "The Season of Forgiveness." Or would that story be too puzzling for people who never read any of PA's stories?
Sean
Sean,
He would have to read it to sf fans, I think.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
And that would require special planning and pre-arranging, including contacting known SF fans to invite them to come to such a reading.
Sean
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