{"product_id":"9780571378265-retail-mistletoe-malice-christmas-literary-comfort-and-joy-meg-mason-author-of-sorrow-and-bliss","title":"Mistletoe Malice: 'Christmas literary comfort and joy' (Meg Mason,","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA dysfunctional family reunites for the Christmas holiday from hell in this rediscovered festive classic with fangs for fans of Barbara Pym, Elizabeth Taylor and Stella Gibbons.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Literary comfort and joy. It got me out of mourning for the Cazelet Chronicles.' -\u003cb\u003eMeg Mason (author of \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A stylish and penetrating comedy of manners. My favourite Christmas book by far - and you can read it all year round.' -\u003cb\u003eRachel Joyce (author of \u003ci\u003eThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A horribly delicious snapshot of post-war family life, in which tensions ensnare the reader in tinsel-covered barbed wire.' -\u003cb\u003eJanice Hallett (author of \u003ci\u003eThe Appeal\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe fire is on, sherry poured, presents wrapped, and claws are being sharpened. In a seaside cottage perched on a cliff, one family reunites for Christmas. While snow falls, a tyrannical widowed matriarch presides over her unruly brood. Her niece tends to her whims, but fantasises about eloping; and as more guests arrive, each bringing their secret truths and dreams, the Christmas tree explodes, a brawl erupts, an escape occurs - and their 'midwinter madness' climaxes ...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKathleen Farrell was born in London in 1912 and educated at a convent school. Her first book, \u003ci\u003eJohnny's Not Home from the Fair \u003c\/i\u003e(1942), was written while working for the wartime secretary-general of the Labour party, after which she founded a prestigious literary agency, eventually sold to a rival firm. Farrell lived in Hampstead for twenty years with her partner Kay Dick - reviewer, editor and author of \u003ci\u003eThey \u003c\/i\u003e(1977) - in a literary circle including Ivy Compton-Burnett, Stevie Smith and Olivia Manning. She wrote stories as well as five more novels - \u003ci\u003eMistletoe Malice\u003c\/i\u003e (1951), \u003ci\u003eTake It to Heart\u003c\/i\u003e (1953), \u003ci\u003eThe Cost of Living\u003c\/i\u003e (1956), \u003ci\u003eThe Common Touch\u003c\/i\u003e (1958), and \u003ci\u003eLimitations of Love\u003c\/i\u003e (1962). Farrell's fiction was critically acclaimed for its savage wit and unsentimental humour, compared to Barbara Pym and Elizabeth Bowen, but failed to find a popular audience, and - by the time of her death in Hove in 1999 - she had fallen into obscurity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Book Grocer","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46421215019227,"sku":"9780571378265-RETAIL","price":21.24,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/19b44206ea3f4f2f97bda267b1a5d0ef.png?v=1736913894","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/9780571378265-retail-mistletoe-malice-christmas-literary-comfort-and-joy-meg-mason-author-of-sorrow-and-bliss","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}