Marceline Murphy comes back from a few years in New York to her family's Boston house, having attracted young men's gazes since her coming-out dance, and goes straight to see her friend Julie O'Rourke. Julie has a brother called Sam, and with his charming pal Patrick O'Connor the friends used to climb trees and play tag. Sam and Patrick however have matured into rogues with money for beer in Brannigan's Pub in their pockets. They work for the Boston Herald - on the loading dock at present, but they have ambitions to rise to the newsroom. The two young men are caught tippling the sacristy wine one day by Father Fitz, who knows their boss and sentences them to voluntary work. The lads are disgruntled until they learn that Julie and her fetching friend Marcy are organising the fundraiser Christmas play and the soup kitchen.

Marcy is pursued by first one light-hearted lad then the other, but she has no intention of parting with even a kiss. A girl disgraced in this rigid community is a girl whose life is destroyed, while the double standard means that the men's reputation precedes them. Auditions for the play, called A LIGHT IN THE WINDOW are held during summer, so Patrick has plenty of time to help in the soup kitchen, surprising himself by enjoying it, and Sam has a good chance to get cosy with the girl of his dreams. Then the preliminary takings are stolen and the young men show what they are really made of, shocking Marcy beyond measure.

A fine picture is painted of Boston at this time, from the wealthy householders to the vulnerable children of the Southie district. A depression in 1893 laid off many workers and the effects are still being felt. The priest is an influential figure in society and commands respect from the wildest hooligans. I disliked the subtitle however: An Irish Christmas Story, when the book was neither. Also, reflecting the Christian ethos of the author Julie Lessman, on several occasions the characters spend pages discussing their faith and need for faith in a partner. Once or twice to establish their attitudes would have sufficed; after that the reader just starts to skip pages to get on with the story. While this is not a fast- paced tale it will appeal to fans of more serious historical romances, with occasional humour, and the good heart demonstrated by Marcy's giving a role to an overlooked girl in a wheelchair is just as necessary in today's larger community. This has also been written as a prequel to the Daughters of Boston series.

Book Summary