I am a huuuuge Downtown Abbey fan, and watching the epsiode on Chritsmas Day with my glass of Baileys was my treat to myself! I was recently asked if the boys and I would like to review a copy of a new book which is part of a series of stories set around the goings on in a stately house owned by Lord Perigan Falcon and Lady Davina Dove, who employ staff ‘downstairs’ to look after them and their home.
As soon as I realised it was a little like an animal version of one of my favourite TV shows I could not say no!
There are 12 books in The Manor House Stories series, each one set to each month of the year. I was sent December’s installement a Christmas story centred around Lady Davina Dove
The house is in full swing as preparations for Christmas get under way, food is made, the tree is put up and decorated and the family awaits the big day. However, on Christmas Eve Lady Davina Duck is awoken in the night by the sound of jingle bells – could it be Father Christmas? Could Davina Duck about to have a life long wish come true?
The book finishes with a recipe for Delia Duck’s (the cook) Starlight Biscuit Christmas Tree Decorations which Burton, Jenson and I set about making just before Christmas. The recipe is a lovely one and we have already used it again to make some gingerbread men!
This book is an absolute delight to read. The characters are interesting and kind and the story is gentle paced and charming, and the boys enjoyed seeing all the different animal and bird characters, and I loved their names too. I also adore the beautiful illustrations and attention to detail. The author and illustrator of the books is Jani Tully Chaplin who wrote the stories over 25 years ago while her children were small to entertain them. However, the stories were not discovered until a chance meeting with her publisher in Corfu in 2011, and now they have been published for new generations to enjoy and own. I think these little books could become a new classic like the Beatrix Potter stories that I enjoyed reading and having read to me when I was a little girl.
For further information on The Manor House Stories please check out their website https://www.themanorhousestories.co.uk/
I was sent a copy of Lady Davina Dove for the purpose of a review. All comments made about it are honest and my own.
The Manor House Stories Mummy Mishaps Reviews Lady Davina Dove, Jan 4, 2014 » The Manor House Stories
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Thank you so much for the lovely review! I am so pleased to see Burton and Jenson making Delia Duck’s Christmas biscuits. I had to try the recipe 4 times before I was satisfied with it! If the house on the beach is yours, I want to live there! Happy New Year to you and yours, Jani
Jani thank you so much for taking the time to personally visit my blog and leave a comment. Your books are wonderful and can just imagine you reading the stories aloud to your children at bedtime and them being captivated. I really do adore the little characters, such fab names for them xx
How wonderful! I never heard of this book series before. Sounds totally delightful
Rory Redshank the Footman at The Manor House is putting on weight from eating some of your delicious cakes Delia Duck the Cook keeps making from your recipes! As you will see from his story, ‘The Prince’s Visit’, when it is released, the buttons are always popping off his waistcoat! His top hat is always falling off too, as you can see in Cream & Sugar the Milkmaids – Snowfall and Snowballs, the latest book to be published.