I read this as a challenge to try something "outside my comfort zone". Anne Perry writes Victorian era crime - certainly not my genre of choice - and ever since 2003 she has released one of these Victorian "Christmas" novellas every year. Again, not my usual reading fare, if only because I have always regarded such slender seasonal offerings as clever marketing exercises by publishers.Nonetheless, A Christmas Journey was quite enjoyable. During a weekend party at a country estate, young widow Isobel Alvie makes a cruel remark about the true motives of another young widow, Gwendolen Kilmuir, in wishing to marry eligible bachelor Bertie Rosythe. Tragedy soon befalls Gwendolen and Isobel is held morally, if not criminally, responsible. As penance, she is given the task of a journey to the wintry wilds of Northern Scotland to deliver a sealed letter to Gwendolen's mother. Failure to do so will result in permanent ostracism from Society (no small punishment amongst the mid-Victorian well-to-do) . Her friend, Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould (love the name!) accompanies her. By the book's end we learn a few secrets and surprises about the characters' pasts that offer a moral lesson in empathy for the lives of others. Although the Christmas message at the end feels a bit tacked on (indeed, Christmas is not at all integral to the plot), the story was enough to keep me interested.
Despite my reservations about these Christmas story enterprises, this book is well written. Anne Perry has a keen interest in the social strictures of mid Victorian Britain and this is reflected in her detailed attention to the language, refined wit, and gestures of her characters. She communicates effectively the serious social consequences that could ensue from a few thoughtless words expressed in polite company. Whether this accurately reflects the reality of Victorian manners and mores is a matter for scholars to judge. For me, it felt authentic, and quite alien from 21st century society. And the narration of Isobel and Vespasia's arduous journey through the Scottish moors on horseback was vividly rendered.
At the very least, this book would make me consider reading one of Anne Perry's substantive crime fictions.
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