EUREKA PUBLIC LIBRARY DISTRICT (Eureka, Illinois)
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December 7, 2022 | 'Christmas Bells' by Jennifer Chiaverini [Adult Review]

12/7/2022

 
Picture

Christmas Bells: a novel

Chiaverini, Jennifer

2015, Dutton

Fiction

Availability

EPLD: print
ILL: large print & audiobook
I heard the bells on Christmas Day/ Their old familiar carols play/ And wild and sweet/ The words repeat/Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 
In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow’s classic Revolutionary War poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride,” was less than a month hence, and the country’s grave political unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, the delights of the season prevailed.

In present-day Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia’s music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she worries not only about her impending unemployment but also about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she leads the children’s choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss.

Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863, when the peace and contentment of Longfellow’s family circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of profound loss and hardship, Longfellow’s patriotism never failed, nor did the power of his language. “Christmas Bells,” the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken as verse and sung as a hymn. 

Jennifer Chiaverini’s resonant and heartfelt novel for the season reminds us why we must continue to hear glad tidings, even as we are tested by strife. Reading Christmas Bells evokes the resplendent joy of a chorus of voices raised in reverent song.

Read a review by Debra Blunier:

christmas_bells.pdf
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File Type: pdf
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address

202 S. Main St.
​Eureka, IL 61530

phone

309.467.2922

fax

309.467.3527

hours

Monday, Tuesday, & Thursday:
​9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

Wednesday & Friday:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Saturday:
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Library Board
    • Library Policies
    • Staff & Employment
    • Friends of the Library
    • Donations
    • Library Newsletter
    • Fine Free
  • At The Library
    • Program Calendar
    • Illinois Libraries Present
    • Kids
    • Teens
    • Adults
    • Get a Library Card
    • Loan Periods and Fines
    • Library of Things
    • Hotspots
    • Seed Library
  • Find Books & More
    • Search Catalog
    • Access Your Account
    • Wowbrary: Latest Additions
    • Interlibrary Loans
    • Digital Resources
    • Staff Book Reviews
    • Pages of Eureka
  • Services
    • Outreach
    • Porch Pickup
    • Free Services
    • Copy, Print, & Fax
    • Educational Materials Request
    • Talking Books
    • Explore More Illinois
    • Online Classes
    • Mango Languages
    • Niche Academy
  • Research
    • Genealogy & Local History
    • Eureka Pumpkin Festival
    • City & County Resources
    • State & Federal Resources
    • Tax Form Information
    • Voter Information