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Series · historical mystery

The Christmas Novellas

by Anne Perry

The Christmas Novellas series by Anne Perry has 21 books and is best read in publication order, starting with A Christmas Journey (2003).

Books
0 novels + 21 novellas
First published
2003
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: A Christmas Journey (2003) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of A Christmas Journey, the first book in The Christmas Novellas

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. A Christmas Journey

    Novella

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  2. A Christmas Visitor

    Novella

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  3. A Christmas Guest

    Novella

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  4. A Christmas Secret

    Novella

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  5. A Christmas Beginning

    Novella

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  6. A Christmas Grace

    Novella

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  7. A Christmas Promise

    Novella

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  8. A Christmas Odyssey

    Novella

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  9. A Christmas Homecoming

    Novella

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  10. A Christmas Garland

    Novella

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  11. A Christmas Hope

    Novella

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  12. A New York Christmas

    Novella

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  13. A Christmas Escape

    Novella

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  14. A Christmas Message

    Novella

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  15. A Christmas Return

    Novella

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  16. A Christmas Revelation

    Novella

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  17. A Christmas Gathering

    Novella

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  18. A Christmas Resolution

    Novella

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  19. A Christmas Legacy

    Novella

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  20. A Christmas Deliverance

    Novella

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  21. A Christmas Vanishing

    Novella

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About The Christmas Novellas

Starting in 2003, Anne Perry published a new short mystery novella every autumn, timed for the Christmas gift-book market, for twenty-one consecutive years. Each is a self-contained Victorian- or Edwardian-era whodunit, generally featuring a minor character borrowed from her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt or William Monk novels -- a friend, relative, or supporting player given their own case to solve away from the main series -- rather than continuing either series' central cast, and each is built around a seasonal setting: a country house cut off by snow, a family Christmas disrupted by an old secret, a journey undertaken in the depths of winter.

Read individually rather than as a connected arc, the novellas were Perry's annual return to shorter-form, gift-book-friendly mystery writing alongside her longer series, and together they form one of the longest-running annual crime-fiction traditions in the genre -- ending only with A Christmas Vanishing (2023), published the year of her death.

How to read this series

There's no reading order to follow -- each novella is a complete, self-contained mystery with its own cast and case, connected to Perry's other work only loosely (many feature a supporting character borrowed from William Monk or Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, given their own story). Pick any title; publication order is listed here mainly for reference, not because it matters for following a plot.

Frequently asked questions

How many Christmas novellas did Anne Perry write?

Twenty-one, published annually from A Christmas Journey (2003) through A Christmas Vanishing (2023), the year of her death.

Do I need to read the Christmas novellas in order?

No -- each is a self-contained mystery with its own case. They aren't a continuing storyline.

Are the Christmas novellas connected to Anne Perry's main series?

Loosely. Many feature a minor character borrowed from the William Monk or Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, given their own standalone case, rather than continuing either series' central plot.

What is the last Anne Perry Christmas novella?

A Christmas Vanishing (2023), published the year Anne Perry died.

Are the Christmas novellas full-length novels?

No, they're shorter gift-book-length novellas, published annually each autumn ahead of the Christmas market, distinct from her full-length series novels.

Reading order last verified .