by Lisa Kleypas
First published 2001
Four English women pen their holiday desires to St. Nicholas, each hoping Christmas will deliver what their hearts truly need. One dreams of inheriting an Irish estate far from London society. Another yearns for family connections that have long eluded her. A third wishes for a peaceful elopement away from prying eyes and social expectations. The fourth wants someone to shut down the gentlemen's clubs like White's that consume so much of men's attention. All four share a deeper longing for marriages to men who possess that rare combination of honesty, love, attractiveness, and noble titles. They wonder if such paragons even exist in sufficient numbers. Their Christmas wishes reveal the tension between practical desires and romantic dreams, between social expectations and personal happiness.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Ireland, London
Period: 19th-century
390 pages · Hardcover · Leisure Books