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Merry - by Susan Breen - 1 of 1

Merry - by Susan Breen (Paperback)

$19.99
FormatPaperback

In Stock

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About this item

Highlights

  • A mother's valiant efforts to bring her family the joy of Christmas go haywire when she finds herself haunted by the angry ghost of Charles Dickens.
  • About the Author: Susan Breen is the award-winning author of The Fiction Class and the Maggie Dove mystery series.
  • 336 Pages
  • Fiction + Literature Genres, Holidays

Description



Book Synopsis



A mother's valiant efforts to bring her family the joy of Christmas go haywire when she finds herself haunted by the angry ghost of Charles Dickens.

This sparkling, cozy novel is perfect for readers of Emma Straub's This Time Tomorrow and anyone who looks forward to watching It's a Wonderful Life each December!

Merry Bingham used to love Christmas--until she started worrying all the time about family, money, and death. The only thing that continues to bring her joy is reading from her heirloom edition of A Christmas Carol, autographed by Charles Dickens himself and passed down through five generations of her family. Now, as she waits for the results of the medical tests that will tell her whether this Christmas season will be her last, Merry prepares to give her book to the next generation. Except none of her three children wants it.

Merry refuses to surrender Christmas or Dickens without a fight, so she sells the book and uses the money to take her family to London. She will fill them with Christmas joy even if she has to cram it down their throats.

But the harder Merry pushes, the worse everything gets. Her children erupt into vicious arguments, her gentle husband stops talking to her, her deluxe rental apartment is not what was promised. Oh, and she keeps seeing the ghost of Charles Dickens around town--and he is not happy with her.

Fans of family stories, classic literature, Christmas novels, and holiday season magic will adore Merry.



Review Quotes




Praise for Merry
"Fans of classic literature, Christmas novels, and stories brimming with heart and humor will find Merry an irresistible addition to their holiday season.​"
--The Table Read

"A wonderful book to read during the holiday season."
--Wonder Women Sixty

"A fun, heartwarming story . . . [The] perfect Christmas novel."
--Red Carpet Crash

"I fell in love with Merry Bingham from the very first page. Breen has created the perfect recipe for a Christmas novel: part hilarious family squabbles, part exotic European location, and a dash of magic in the form of a ghostly literary icon. Yet the characters remain grounded and highly sympathetic. Laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely moving--this is the holiday book I've been waiting for."
--Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

"All the joy and magic of a Hallmark holiday tale with the added depth and urgency of a modern family novel. Rare book dealer Merry Bingham is determined to fix her fractious family by taking them all to London for the best Christmas ever, even as she grapples with her own guilt and faces an uncertain diagnosis. This fresh and clever reimagining of Dickens's A Christmas Carol drew me in with its astute and empathetic exploration of the complex family dynamics at play between adult children and their imperfect parents."
--Kim van Alkemade, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan #8 and Counting Lost Stars

"Merry is a Christmas novel to be savored. Breen's latest is filled with warmth, insight, emotional depth, and a protagonist that will stay with you long after you turn the final page."
--Carola Lovering, New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Lies and Bye, Baby

"From the opening page, the reader is in for a true Christmas treat. Merry is everything a Christmas novel should be--heartwarming and filled with endearing characters. There are many lessons to be learned but Susan approaches them with humor and great holiday cheer. I loved every minute of this wonderful book!"
--Anita Hughes, author of Christmas at the Lake and A Magical New York Christmas



About the Author



Susan Breen is the award-winning author of The Fiction Class and the Maggie Dove mystery series. She teaches novel writing at Gotham Writers and has been on the faculty of conferences from Cape Cod to Dubai. She loves stories about families, London, ghosts, guilt, atonement, dogs, Charles Dickens, and Christmas. She likes the idea of collecting rare books, though so far, she's only collected two, both of them being early editions of A Christmas Carol. For more info check out susanbreenauthor.com.
Dimensions (Overall): 12.61 Inches (H) x 7.34 Inches (W) x .87 Inches (D)
Weight: .68 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 336
Genre: Fiction + Literature Genres
Sub-Genre: Holidays
Publisher: Alcove Press
Format: Paperback
Author: Susan Breen
Language: English
Street Date: September 23, 2025
TCIN: 1001620443
UPC: 9798892421935
Item Number (DPCI): 247-36-3791
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
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Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.87 inches length x 7.34 inches width x 12.61 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.68 pounds
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Additional product information and recommendations

2.0 out of 5 stars with 1 reviews
0% would recommend
1 recommendations
2 out of 5 stars
Thumbs down graphic, would not recommend
17 December, 2025

The cover is the best part of the book!

Merry by Susan Breen has a lovely cover with a snow globe, string of lights, and colorful books. I was looking forward to a lively family holiday tale that had an interesting connection to Charles Dickens and his story, A Christmas Carol. I struggled with this book. I was not a fan of Merry’s grown children (what a bunch). They are unlikeable and whiny (of course, that could be said for most of the characters). None of the characters seem to have healthy relationships with anyone else and that includes Merry with her children (I would not willingly take a vacation with those three ungrateful children). There is no character development, so the relationships do not stand a chance of being improved (which is sad). The book takes a wrong turn when it has Merry talking to her dog and getting replies. Merry also encounters the ghost of Charles Dickens and has conversations with him. It is a slow-moving story with repetitive details. I enjoyed the descriptions of The Christmas Carol that had been handed down from one generation to the next in Merry’s family. If I had been one of Merry’s children, I would have been eager for it to be handed down to me. I finished this book, but it took some effort (I kept putting it down, would read another book, and then come back to it). It is a shame that the story did not live up to the cover.
Kristina Anderson
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