Book Synopsis
Mary Beckwith lives in a magnificent English castle during the twilight years of the gilded age. With the help of an American millionaire, she has succeeded in renovating her beloved Whitefriars castle into a splendid estate just in time for Christmas.
From across the ocean, millionaire Everett Wooten has spent a fortune propping up Whitefriars to add modern conveniences and rebuild crumbling old walls. Even though he’s never met Mary, they have enjoyed a lively business correspondence over the nine years they have been working toward a renovation. Now he has finally come to see Mary and the castle in person, but nothing is as he was led to believe.
Mary and Everett try to find a way forward, but red-blooded American entrepreneurship doesn’t always mingle with blue-blooded English tradition. Can a Manhattan business tycoon and an English lady come to an accord, or will their joint venture in Whitefriars result in heartbreak for them both?
From across the ocean, millionaire Everett Wooten has spent a fortune propping up Whitefriars to add modern conveniences and rebuild crumbling old walls. Even though he’s never met Mary, they have enjoyed a lively business correspondence over the nine years they have been working toward a renovation. Now he has finally come to see Mary and the castle in person, but nothing is as he was led to believe.
Mary and Everett try to find a way forward, but red-blooded American entrepreneurship doesn’t always mingle with blue-blooded English tradition. Can a Manhattan business tycoon and an English lady come to an accord, or will their joint venture in Whitefriars result in heartbreak for them both?
My thoughts:
I thought Christmas at Whitefriars is one of the best novellas I have read. I have loved Ms. Camden's novels but wasn't certain if a shorter story would have an impact on me but boy was I wrong!
She managed to write a captivating story that was hard to put down.
Mary Beckwith is an endearing character, her panic attacks and anxiety are something I think we all have experienced at some point in our lives but hopefully not to the extent she did. I felt so bad for her, especially when she and her brother travel to York to meet Everett Wooten. Everett turned out to be much more likable than I originally anticipated and I liked how understanding he could be. Well, he was less understanding when he visits the crumbling castle that Mary is trying to renovate than he was at their first meeting but he is s wonderful character.
In this beautifully crafted story the author skillfully brought her characters to life, she made me care about them and most importantly I think she genuinely cared about them by making them seem so real to me. If you are already a fan of Ms. Camden, you will want to read this novella and if you haven't read any of her books, this is the perfect book to start with.
I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are completely my own.
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