Rating: 
Summary: An Anne Perry Special
Review: "A Christmas Journey" is more than a mystery and more than a Christmas story. All Anne Perry fans should put aside their usual expectations of a Pitt-Monk type mystery, and simply sit back and enjoy a story about Vespasia, including a reference to her married status and an unfulfilled love affair.There is no need to flesh out characters, because that's not the point of the story.
It is, rather, a story with devastating insights into English upper-crust manners and, more importantly, into the meaning of faith,friendship, and a touch of perseverance.
Rating:
Summary: An Anne Perry Special
Review: "A Christmas Journey" is more than a mystery and more than a Christmas story. All Anne Perry fans should put aside their usual expectations of a Pitt-Monk type mystery, and simply sit back and enjoy a story about Vespasia, including a reference to her married status and an unfulfilled love affair.There is no need to flesh out characters, because that's not the point of the story.
It is, rather, a story with devastating insights into English upper-crust manners and, more importantly, into the meaning of faith,friendship, and a touch of perseverance.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring and disappointing
Review: A Christmas Journey is a very disappointing book with a very misleading title. This is my first experience with any of Anne Perry's books, and it was a big effort to even finish this book. After finishing the book, I can't believe that I wasted my time even reading it.The story is set "around" Christmas time and has nothing to do with a "Christmas" story at all. The characters are extremely shallow without any depth, the book jacket's hint of a murder and mystery do not materialize at all, and there were many questions left unanswered and I would constantly ask myself, "what....."? Story lines did not connect and the plot did not easily flow. The entire story was unrealistic, bordering on horrible fantasy, as well as lacking in substance and depth. Not a book that I would recommend to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and disappointing
Review: A Christmas Journey is a very disappointing book with a very misleading title. This is my first experience with any of Anne Perry's books, and it was a big effort to even finish this book. After finishing the book, I can't believe that I wasted my time even reading it. The story is set "around" Christmas time and has nothing to do with a "Christmas" story at all. The characters are extremely shallow without any depth, the book jacket's hint of a murder and mystery do not materialize at all, and there were many questions left unanswered and I would constantly ask myself, "what....."? Story lines did not connect and the plot did not easily flow. The entire story was unrealistic, bordering on horrible fantasy, as well as lacking in substance and depth. Not a book that I would recommend to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Disappointing!!!!
Review: Anne Perry is a brilliant writer. She is my favorite author and can take you into Victorian England better than Charles Dickens, BUT even a superb writer can not always create a good work. Anne Perry proves that with this shallow, short novella. Her descriptions are magnificent, but there has to be a riviting story to make a piece worthwhile and this book does not have one. The title is misleading, it is not a Christmas story. It starts before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. It has virtually nothing to do with Christmas. To be accurate, it might better have been titled "A Winter Journey". I had thought that this work might give insights into the wonderful Lady Vespasia from the Thomas Pitt novels. All it does is expose her as a shallow, almost adulterous lady of leisure who spends a great deal of time thinking of her lost love from a Roman escapade and has very little thought of her husband and children.She does not even spend Christmas Eve with her family but rushes off to Applecross to be with a man who has fascinated her throughout the book. The woman who causes the problems in the story is a most unlikable person. She has a quick, sharp, wicked tongue and uses it often. She snaps at everyone, even as they try to help her. The only person of true and nobel character is the stoic mother of the girl who committed suicide. She is the most interesting character in the book and only makes an appearance in the last quarter of the story. However even her character is under developed as there is no real reason given for her running from her previous life. There are needless extensions of the trip to find the mother of the suicide victum. Everytime it seems that she will be found, she has moved on to another more remote location. This gives Ms.Perry a chance to describe the Scotland she calls home, but needlessly prolongs a story that has quickly run out of steam. I wish I could recommend this book as Anne Perry and Christmas seemed a magnificent combination, but this is a very poor work from a usually great author.
Rating:
Summary: A Journey of Discovery
Review: Anne Perry's memorable character, the indomitable Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, is the heart of this book. She is a young wife and mother, 30 years of age, attending a weekend house party at the home of her friend Omegus Jones. There Isobel Alvie, a young widow who is vying for the attention of an eligible bachelor, makes a cruel and cutting remark about Gwendolen, another young widow who would appear to be about to become engaged to him. The next morning Gwendolen is dead, an obvious suicide. Omegus proposes a medieval solution that could allow Isobel, who the guests find responsible for Gwendolen's death, to redeem herself. It will be a long and bitter journey in the cold of early winter to deliver Gwendolen's last letter to her mother, who lives in the north of Scotland. Vespasia, in friendship, offers to accompany Isobel. The journey is longer and much more difficult than anticipated, but the women persevere and meet another remarkable woman, Gwendolen's mother. The morals and mores of mid-nineteenth century England may seem strange and unusually strict to us, but Isobel and Vespasia must learn to live within those rules. As they travel, they share their thoughts and develop a true friendship. It is a journey of discovery for both of them, as they look deep inside themselves. I do agree with another reviewer that Vespasia dwells too much on her affair with Marco in Rome, but I assume that it is still a very recent occurrence, so that is understandable. What I do not understand, however, is Vespasia's willingness to leave her children, well cared for though they are, for long periods of time, first to go to Rome and again to travel to Scotland. Again, I suppose it is customary for the gentry and nobility of that era to do so. Nevertheless, it surprised and disappointed me. However, this is an excellent book which I highly recommend to all who love Aunt Vespasia and wish a glimpse of the young woman who became a great lady.
Rating: 
Summary: A Friendship That Never Ends
Review: Before reading this book, please take the time to be prepared to understand the social attributes of 19th century England, and especially for the gentry social class. Life for these people was honor bound, but also extremely chauvinistic. As a result, I gave this book a 4 star rating, simply because two women would not necessarily be allowed to do what Lady Vespasia and Isobel set out to do alone had it not been fiction.
However, I found this book charming, as well as one that could talk to our senses of morality, charity, love and friendship. Friendship is either a trust situation, or not, and this book addresses that nicely. Having everything conclude at Christmas helped tie in the friendship aspect of the Blessed Season, and for that, I was appreciative.
A short book ... a novella really. Won't take long to read! May I suggest listening to the audio version? Terrence Hardiman does an excellent job reading Perry's book! A real treat hearing a male voice reading a book largely about women!
Rating:
Summary: A True Christmas Story
Review: I enjoyed this book because it gave us an insight into a young Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, one of my favourite characters from the Thomas Pitt series. I also enjoyed this story for the Christmas message that it sent. It's only a small novelette, but it's full of delight. Ms. Perry can take us into her Victorian world like no one else can, and it's an almost illicit pleasure! Surely it can't be right or legal to enjoy these books so much! But it is and it doesn't need to be a guilty pleasure either. In this book we see a young Lady Vespasia setting out on a horrific winter journey in order to provide moral support for one of her friends who has been entrusted with a mission. During the journey Vespasia pieces together the details of the tragedy that occurred a year and a half ago, and how it caused a young woman to jump over the bridge into a freezing lake. Powerful stuff here.
Rating:
Summary: A True Christmas Story
Review: I enjoyed this book because it gave us an insight into a young Lady Vespasia Cumming-Gould, one of my favourite characters from the Thomas Pitt series. I also enjoyed this story for the Christmas message that it sent. It's only a small novelette, but it's full of delight. Ms. Perry can take us into her Victorian world like no one else can, and it's an almost illicit pleasure! Surely it can't be right or legal to enjoy these books so much! But it is and it doesn't need to be a guilty pleasure either. In this book we see a young Lady Vespasia setting out on a horrific winter journey in order to provide moral support for one of her friends who has been entrusted with a mission. During the journey Vespasia pieces together the details of the tragedy that occurred a year and a half ago, and how it caused a young woman to jump over the bridge into a freezing lake. Powerful stuff here.
Rating:
Summary: Weak story
Review: It's Christmas time and guests have gathered in the Berkshire countryside house of Applecross for a weekend of Christmas cheer. Unfortunately for one guest, a cutting remark made by another sent her to suicide. In order not to be socially ostracized the young woman who made the remark that caused the suicide embarks on a journey to Scotland to deliver a letter to the deceased mother. I am usually not a big fan of the books written for Christmas by best-selling authors. The prime purpose of most of these books seems to be to cash in on the Christmas dollars people are willing to spend. I had high hopes for this book because I am a big fan of Anne Perry. It started with promise with one of the interesting secondary characters in the Thomas Pitt series, Vespasia Cumming-Gould. The story takes place when Vespasia is in her early thirties instead of the more advanced years of the Pitt series. I thought we would have some good character development and backstory for Vespasia, but instead the character portraits were superficial. The plot was not only rather ludicrous, but weak. Thankfully it's a short book with only 180 pages and wide margins. Save your money and read or re-read any of the excellent books in the Thomas Pitt series or William Monk series.
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