If you enjoy a Christmas tale with a Charles Dickens flair, 12 DAYS AT BLEAKLY MANOR will be a good pick. Mr. Dickens even makes a cameo appearance. Pretty cool, eh? Set in London in 1850, this is a Regency/Romance/Christian/Mystery set in the Victorian era. At the back of the book is a compilation of Victorian Christmas traditions such as the Yule Log, the Wassail, which first was a toast and became a drink, and a nugget of information on the Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration.

Our heroine, Clara Chapman has had a rough year. It began when she was left at the altar on her wedding day to Benjamin Lane, the man she loves. She is stripped of her family fortune and is taken in to live with her charitable Aunt Deborha. Clara has been grieving for her old life for the past year, questioning why Ben deceived her.. When a lacquered carriage with a pair of fine horses stop at her doorstep, Clara believes they are there in error or just lost. A liveried gentleman delivers an invitation to Clara. It invites her to spend the 12 Days of Christmas at Bleakly Manor. If she remains for the entire period, the promised sum of 500 pounds will be hers. Realizing this will be a great help to her future, and with the encouragement of Aunt Deborha, Clara accepts the invitation and sets out to the Manor.

Imprisoned without a trial, Benjamin Lane seeks revenge on whoever stole his honor and kept him from Clara. When the warden at Millbank Prison gives Ben the invitation to stay at Bleakly Manor for the 12 Days of Christmas, his prize promises freedom. Ben accepts and is off to the Manor immediately. When he sees his fiance, Clara, will the two wronged lovers, each believing the other guilty of betrayal, begin their journey back to truth, faith and together forever?

Michelre Griep writes a heartwarming holiday tale with all the trimmings. The huge Manor house is filled with secrets and a quirky cast of characters with silly names: Mr. Minnow, Mrs. Scurry, (who carries a box filled with tiny white mice); Mr, Pocket, a detective who is promised a higher rank: Mr. Tallgrass, (pushed everywhere in a wheelchair by a young girl): and Mademoiselle Pretents who keeps secrets and claims her jewelry is stolen while at the Manor. All of them filled with idiosyncrasies, all given a promise. Who will stay and get the prize? Who is the mysterious host? Will you be able to solve this Victorian Christmas mystery? A quick, fun read for the holidays. You will enjoy. I did. Merry, Merry!

Book Summary

A mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home may bring danger...and love?

England, 1851: When Clara Chapman receives an intriguing invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home, she is hesitant yet feels compelled to attend—for if she remains the duration of the twelve-day celebration, she is promised a sum of five hundred pounds.

But is she walking into danger? It appears so, especially when she comes face to face with one of the other guests—her former fiancé, Benjamin Lane.

Imprisoned unjustly, Ben wants revenge on whoever stole his honor. When he’s given the chance to gain his freedom, he jumps at it—and is faced with the anger of the woman he stood up at the altar. Brought together under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Ben discover that what they’ve been striving for isn’t what ultimately matters.

What matters most is what Christmas is all about . . . love.

Pour a cup of tea and settle in for Book 1 of the Once Upon a Dickens Christmas series--a page-turning Victorian-era holiday tale--by Michelle Griep, a reader and critic favorite.