Christmas at Thompson Hall

Written by Anthony Trollope

Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano and The Crush

Thompson Hall, redolent of plum pudding and mince pie, green of holly, warmed by omnipotent Victorian fireplaces, awaits the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Brown from the south of France

But they may never make it to Thompson Hall. The story opens in Paris at Le Grand Hotel, where Mr. Brown is down with "a throat condition" - he is unable to travel to England. Only Mrs. Brown is quite determined they will go on.

So begins a Christmas tale complicated and simple, pathetic and farcical, embarrassing, - even risque, though of course it could be read aloud to an assembled Victorian family.

Anthony Trollope was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, which revolves around the imaginary county of Barsetshire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Icon Audio Arts
• Release date: Nov 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9798887675442

Anthony Trollope

Anthony Trollope was a Victorian-era English author best known for his satirical novel The Way We Live Now, a criticism of the greed and immorality he witnessed living in London. Trollope was employed as a postal surveyor in Ireland when he began to take up writing as a serious pursuit, publishing four novels on Irish subjects during his years there. In 1851 Trollope was travelling the English countryside for work when was inspired with the plot for The Warden, the first of six novels in what would become his famous The Chronicles of Barsetshire series. Trollope eventually settled in London and over the next thirty years published a prodigious body of work, including Barsetshire novels such as Barchester Towers and Doctor Thorne, as well as numerous other novels and short stories. Trollope died in London 1882 at the age of 67.

Reviews for Christmas at Thompson Hall

[prop2gether · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fun Christmas story of mishaps and embarrassments, all set to rights by the end.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amusing short story. Although the events take place at Christmas time, as a couple are traveling from Pau to England to spend Christmas with family, it is not a "Christmas story" such as A Christmas Carol or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Instead it is a quietly amusing look at the foibles of the British matron abroad.

[leann-362203 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable and humorous seasonal read

[philsyphe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a story set at Christmastime, rather than “a Christmas story” as the title implies.I like the whole mustard theme. It’s mildly funny, though I suspect it would’ve been funnier to the author’s contemporaries.I would’ve liked it more if there’d been more dialogue exchanges and less rambling third-person narrative. Quite a few times we’re “told” what characters say via reported speech when dialogue would’ve “shown” us what was going on.