Anne Perry began writing her Christmas novellas back in 2003. I think that “A Christmas Legacy” is the nineteenth of this ongoing collection.

These books are ones to enjoy every year. Each features a favorite character from one of Ms. Perry’s series. This year readers will spend time with the intrepid Gracie. Long term readers will know that Gracie had been a servant to Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. She became one of the family and often helped in solving cases. Gracie left service when she married one of the police officer who worked for Thomas.

As this novella opens, Gracie is the mistress of her own home. She has a daughter whom she adores. All seems well. However, when Millie, the daughter of someone well-known to Gracie, seeks help, there is no way that Gracie will refuse.

As a result, Gracie temporarily finds herself back “in service.” What is going on in the home where she works? Why is food disappearing, especially sweets? Who is a mysterious party that is hidden from view? Why is the family having so much difficulty?

Readers will enjoy spending time with Gracie as she works all of these questions out. She is a most likeable character.

Please note: those who have never read books by Ms. Perry can still enjoy this title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

My first book by Anne Perry, but definitely not my last. A great tale about what it means to be a family with a bit of mystery thrown in. A fun and well written addition to every holiday season.

Anne Perry's Christmas mysteries have become a part of my holiday tradition. Her characters take us into the celebration and issues of another era. Good but predictable--but then again that is not a bad thing. More like long short stories than books

In her usual easy to read style Anne Perry again transports us to a different era.
I do not go for the typical Christmas stories but I’m always looking forward to Anne Perry’s yearly Christmas themed novel. You get a bit of mystery, a show of the true spirit of Christmas by caring about the wellbeing of others and the enjoyment of the small pleasures in life. We have a great number of characters in this story. The servants are likeable and you wishing them the best. Their masters are a different story. They are downright nasty.
Life of home servants in this time period wasn’t easy and heavily depending on the whims of the masters. It was easy to lose your job and be out on the street. Child labor was accepted by everybody and in a lot of ways they were considered the lucky ones. They were not living on the streets and begging for food.

Something evil is happening at the Harcourt house, so when one of their servants seeks refuge with Gracie Tellman and asks for her help, her sense of honor takes over. Gracie, a former ladies maid, is now married to a policeman and keeps her own house and takes care of her family. This puts her in a unique position to know how to blend into the Harcourt household while having a special affinity for law and order.

With the help of the other household servants, Gracie uncovers the tragedy that hides in the Harcourt home and does what she can to right a grievous wrong.

A Christmas Legacy is a light and engaging read with an uplifting Christmas message. I really enjoyed it. I'm a sucker for a good Christmas book and this is the best one I've read so far this year. Highly recommend for Christmas nuts like me.

Anne Perry again provides a classy Christmas story; A Christmas Legacy. Gracie Tellman, wife of a police officer and former maid of Lady Pitt, comes to the aid of Millie, daughter of a friend, who is troubled by events in the home where she is employed as maid. Gracie goes to replace her and find out what happened. She finds that the gentleman's mother is deprived of many things although she owns the house. The servants are worried they will be dismissed. Then the lady dies. What follows is classic Anne Perry justice for all.

I have read several of Anne Perry’s Christmas books and wonder about their dark and dour mood. This one starts out with an ominous foreboding that all is not well and is not going to end well.

Normally focusing on the Pitt family, Anne Perry turns away from them in this story and concentrates on a former maid of their household, Gracie Tellman. The year is 1900 and Gracie Tellmen has made a good marriage, a comfortable home and given birth to three children. She is happy with her life and trying to teach her children what is important. As a former domestic in the Pitt household, while she was dearly beloved, she has an understanding of the tenuous position all servants can be in when confronted with their employer’s power. Perry uses the care and concern of Gracie, a former servant, to shine the light on the predicament of a household of servants being held in thrall by their upper class employers. Perry doesn’t leave it there as her light shines ever brightly on the abuse of the elderly, when alone, at the mercy of greedy would-be heirs.

So, after wondering about the tone and finishing the book, I came upon the ending dedication and it all made sense. Anne Perry has given us a thoughtful look-back at the upstairs/downstairs of Victorian England with a knockout ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a copy.

An easy holiday season read. The storyline was predictable, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying it.

Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s former maid takes a new job as Christmas approaches—but not everyone in the household may survive the holidays. Millie, turns up on her doorstep just before the holidays, frantic because things are going missing from the kitchen in the household she serves. Gracie takes on Millie’s job herself and begins to realize that Granny, the couple’s elderly granny, is suffering from neglect—and rather than helping her, the husband and wife have decided she isn’t dying fast enough.

I love Anne Perry's books and especially her Christmas books. I think I have read them all. This one was especially fun and Gracie kept telling herself that it didn't matter what happened to her since she had a home and husband and kids to return to if she gets sacked. But them she reminds herself that she is really Millie and Millie cannot afford to be out on the street. I kept guessing as to the ending and let me say, I got it completely wrong. It was a total surprise and very satisfying.

Ms. Perry did a great job of creating the characters and making you like them at times and dislike them at times. The disliking you discover is because of the stress of the working in a household where things are not ever harmonious. Sometimes when people think they are "entitled" they totally forget how they got there. Or maybe they remember and it creates a monster. Yes, I will be recommending this read to all my friends.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my copy of the book. The comments are all mine.

I received an ARC of this book. I love Christmas stories and this was an excellent one! A tale of Christmas in Victorian times, it tells the story of a woman who steps back into the role of a servant to help out a friend. She puts herself at risk to solve a puzzle, leaving the comfort of her own home to do so. Great story!

When a young and frightened maid appears on the doorstep of Gracie Tellman's home, the former maid of Charlotte and Thomas Pitt listens to her story and talks her husband into letting her trade places with the young maid until Christmas. Gracie tells the servants at Harcourt House that she's helping out until Millie is "over her cold". Right away Gracie senses there is something odd going on at the home, as all the servants have an underlying fear of being let go.

Gracie is shocked when she finds out where the missing food from the pantry is going. She wants to help but how can she? If Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt discover what the servants are doing she has a family to go home to, but what about the rest of the servants? Especially the young ones who are still almost children themselves? They'd be put out on the cold streets and it's almost Christmas.

I really enjoyed this Victorian Christmas story. Gracie knows what it's like to serve in a household, but the Pitts were nothing like the Harcourts. The Pitts cared about Gracie and she cared about them enough to have named two of her children after them. I loved Gracie's innate goodness and how kind she was to the younger servants and the elderly Mrs. Harcourt. I thoroughly enjoyed the elderly Mrs. Harcourt's attorney and how he handled Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt (the younger).

This story shows what life was like serving in a household in this era. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher Ballantine Books via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Gracie Tellman, former maid to Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, is enjoying her home and family in Victorian-era London and looking forward to Christmas with her daughter, Charlie, when a knock sounds at the door. Millie, a young maid in the Harcourt household, has come with disturbing news. High-quality food is disappearing, and it won’t be long before the mistress of the house finds out. The servants are scared that somebody will be accused of theft, and nobody knows the culprit. Gracie decides to take Millie’s place for nine days leading up to Christmas in order to solve this mystery. Gracie soon learns that all is not as it seems, and reveals that sometimes evil can parade about in fancy clothes.

This satisfying Christmas novella combines mystery, suspicion, upheaval, acts of kindness, and a Christmas miracle together to create a captivating story. The perils of servant life in a Victorian household are well described, and the young age of some of the servants at the time is shocking. The rich also had the ability in those days to completely ruin the lives of their servants by sending them to the street, homeless, with no reference. The fact that some homeowners held this power over the heads of those in their employ in order to terrorize them is disturbing. But despite the tumult, a sense of truth, loyalty, and fairness is also woven into the story, and it ends with a miracle so wonderful that it could only happen at Christmas. Anne Perry has once again created a Christmas tale that will captivate the reader and transport them straight to Victorian London during the holidays.

I received a free copy of this book from Ballantine Books via Historical Novels Review Magazine. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a heartwarming Christmas Historical Fiction story set in Victorian England. Gracie, Thomas and Charlotte Pitt's former maid, left service years ago to get married and care for her family. When her good friend's daughter Millie shows up on her doorstep frightened and asking for help, she can't refuse. Something is wrong in the household Millie now serves and when things go missing from the kitchen, she can't risk being accused of theft and thrown into the streets without a reference.

Gracie decides to tell the household that Millie is sick and that she is taking her place for a few days before Christmas, which will allow her to snoop around to find out what's going on. When Gracie gets to the household, she finds a nice group of servants who clearly care for Millie, but something is definitely wrong and no one is talking. Gracie eventually finds the man of the house's mother in an upstairs bedroom clearly being neglected, but other than showing her some kindness, Gracie is at a loss as to what else she can do for her.

This is a warm and fuzzy Christmas story that is a quick and easy read. I really like Gracie. She's smart, capable and compassionate. The author does a good job of sketching out the personality of the other servants, although most are a pretty stereotypical. The masters of the house are also your typical awful rich people, but these little nit picky things don't diminish my enjoyment of the book. I really like this author's writing and was pleased to read this heartwarming Christmas story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Ballantine Books. All opinions are my own.

Strange happenings!

What a different and lovely addition to Perry’s looked for Christmas treats. A simple tale that drew indignation, sympathy and peace.
Gracie Tellman, formerly in service to the Pitts and married to Samuel Tellman, a policeman, now an Inspector with Bow Street, takes on an investigative role in a society household. A frightened young girl, a housemaid at Harcourt House asks for Gracie’s help. Millie Foster, now grown was a child Gracie knew from one of Samuel’s past cases. Millie is worried. Something is amiss in the household where she’s employed. Food keeps going missing, chicken and cakes. Millie’s worried she and the other staff will be blamed. Gracie knows that staff can be dismissed for less. No wonder everyone’s apprehensive. Gracie promises her family that she’ll tackle the problem and be home by Christmas Eve. Samuels not that keen. As the truth gradually unfolds we have an insiders view about the relationships between staff and employers. Nefarious doings seem to be at hand. Beautifully unfolded like a precious silk scarf. A Christmas ending of sadness and joy.

A Random House - Ballantine ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Ann Perry's A Christmas Legacy: A Novel (Christmas, 19) delights her fans with more details about her recurring characters, namely the Tellmans. Gracie Tellman is married to Sam, who is a Bow Street policeman. Soon enough, Gracie is asked a favor by her friend's daughter. Gracie begins investigating wrongdoings at a fancy home where the daughter used to work. The story evolves, and motives are revealed as to why and what is happening in the house. A Christmas Legacy is a charming look at what Christmas used to be while focusing on behavior that never seems to change.

I always enjoy reading books by Anne Perry. Her Christmas novels are kind of like the icing on the cake. Generally, supporting characters from her series are the focus of these books.

In this case, Grace Tellman is the heroine of the moment. Grace was a maid for Charlotte and Thomas Pitt back in the day. She is now married to Samuel, who is a police inspector she met while with the Pitts.

Grace comes to the aid of a young woman and takes her place in a house that seems surrounded in mystery and, to a great extent, misery.

Grace has promised to help this friend and also to be back at home before Christmas, which is just a few short days away.

The story is both heart-warming and sad. It was touching to read and made me want to cheer a bit through the tears that had come to my eyes.

I’ll be looking forward to reading more books by Ms. Perry in the future. I know when I pick up one of her books, I will be engrossed from start to finish.

I was provided a digital advance reader copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley.

Gracie is a former maid and is now married to Samuel, a policeman. They have 3 young children who keep Gracie very busy.

Millie Foster comes to see Gracie saying that she is afraid at her current job. She is a maid at Harcourt House. Food is going missing and she doesn’t know what to do. She is afraid that she is going to be blamed. Gracie agrees to take over her job for a few days before Christmas saying that Millie has a cold and will return soon when she is well.

Gracie fits right in with the other members of the staff caring for the home. She learns that Mr. and Mrs. Harcourt are not nice people and overhears them saying they are running short of money. When Gracie learns that Mr. Harcourt’s elderly mother is being kept in a room on the top floor and not being well cared for, she is determined to investigate the matter. She finds the frail woman has not been bathed and her bedding is poor. Gracie steps in and gets the woman cleaned up and fresh bedding for her. The woman is very grateful to her. How could these people be so uncaring of this lovely lady?

This is the first book I have read by this author so I am unfamiliar with Gracie’s detective skills. However, that wasn’t necessary to me to be able to enjoy this book. I found the characters to all be well created and the plot well written. I certainly look forward to reading more books by Anne Perry.

Copy provided by the NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Christmas Legacy by Anne Perry is a warm story about a group of servants, risking being put out at any moment, care for a dying woman, much to the dismay of her family. Millie, an acquaintance of Gracie and her husband, Samuel, has come to ask for help. Gracie used to be in service in the home of Sir Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte. Millie is in service to the Harcourts of Eaton Square. Millie is frightened, but she can't say of what, and food is missing. Gracie determines that the easiest way to figure it out is to take Millie's place in the home for several days. She feels the undercurrent of fear herself. Then she spies young Bessie with a plate, sneaking around the stairs to the most upper level of the house. Bessie won't come clean. Gracie gets stuck in a closet by accident and overhears a conversation between the master and the mistress about money, or the lack of it. As Gracie discovers the truth about what is happening in the house, she takes it into her own hands, as she doesn't need to be worried about being dismissed.

Perry's Christmas novellas are always about people who do the right thing; who carry Christmas in their hearts all year long. This is such a story. A whole houseful of people is doing the right thing, despite the fact it may cost them their home, their livelihoods, even their lives. It is perfect for Christmas as only Anne Parry can write it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of A Christmas Legacy by Ballantine Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #ballantinebooks #anneperry #achristmaslegacy

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I loved this one! It featured a character from the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, which is one of my favorites series. It was a very cozy holiday mystery, with some very sweet sentimental moments. I loved the interactions between the household staff, and Gracie’s courage. The ending was very satisfying. This is the perfect holiday read!

A Christmas Legacy by Anne Perry is a sweet Christmas story. Honesty, it wasn’t anything special and like most Christmas stories, it was fairly predictable, but if you like Christmas books, it was cute and an easy read.