The Crown Derby Plate: A Ghost Story for Christmas by Marjorie Bowen
My rating: 4/5 cats
of the three books i have now read in ‘seth’s christmas ghost stories’ series, this one is the weirdest. weird, spooky, a little silly, but also my favorite so far.
it is about a woman named martha pym who has two wishes:
1) to see a ghost, ”particularly at Christmas, for you can laugh as you like, that is the correct time to see a ghost.”
and
2) to retrieve the one china plate missing from a Crown Derby set she bought at auction thirty years ago from hartleys; an old house rumored to be haunted, currently inhabited by a mysterious woman named miss lefain, rumored to be ‘cracky.’
since martha happens to be staying with family for the christmas season, who happen to live near hartleys, who MAY happen to have that plate still lying around, it’s like a big old ball of christmas miracles and dreams and HAPPENINGS coming true at once.
of course, what we think we want is sometimes more desirable in theory than actuality, and martha may be updating her bucket list after the events contained herein.
it’s short, sweet, terribly british, and it is perfectly suited for an all-ages family read-aloud on a chilly winter night.
A VERY TROUBLING SMELL INDEED!
mission statement copied from my review for One Who Saw
this holiday season, i am going to read through ‘seth’s christmas ghost stories’ line on biblioasis, and i encourage you to do the same. the books are so cute and tiny, you can stuff someone’s stocking or dreidel with ’em! the cover art and interior illustrations are by seth, and they are seasonally spoooooky, blending the spirit of halloween with christmas cheer the way nature, and jack skellington, intended.
8 more to go!
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