Victorian Bookshelf's rating (10 being the best, 0 the worst) ~ 8 stars
In this screwball comedy, set during the 1870s, Anthony Trollope tells a charming, humorous story about two people on their way to their family's Christmas gathering.
Mrs. Brown and her husband live in France. Mrs. Brown's family lives in England, and every year the family gathers at Thompson Hall to celebrate Christmas. Mrs. Brown, however, has been unable to join her family for eight years because her husband dislikes traveling in the winter which might endanger his delicate health. This year, though, Mrs. Brown's family insists that she and her husband join them for the festivities. Jane Thompson, Mrs. Mary Brown's only sister, wants her to come to meet her fiance, who is traveling to Thompson Hall for the Christmas celebration.
Despite her husband's misgivings about the trip, Mrs. and Mr. Brown leave their home in Pau. They break their journey overnight at the Grand Hotel in Paris. Before he goes to bed, Mr. Brown pleads an increasingly painful sore throat. Mrs. Brown, who will not miss Christmas with her family, believes that he must be feigning his illness. Nonetheless, near midnight, she agrees to go in search of the hotel's mustard jar. What is the mustard for? A mustard plaster, an old-fashioned remedy for throat discomfiture.*
Mrs. Brown leavers her quarters, Room 333, in search of the salon. On the way, she gets lost in the dark hotel. The night porter rescues her. Too embarrassed to admit that she had come down to find the mustard jar, she lies that she is searching for her handkerchief, which she supposedly left in the salon. After the fruitless search, the porter escorts Mrs. Brown back to her room. She waits until the porter disappears. Then she hurries back down to the salon, fills her handkerchief with mustard, and begins her journey back to Room 333.
She returns to her room, opens the door and quietly slips in. Her husband has fallen asleep; she can hear his peaceful breathing. In the dark room, she places the hard-won mustard plaster on her husband's throat. Just as she has finished her deed, she discovers that she has made a ghastly mistake: she has put the mustard plaster on the wrong man!
This short story is ideal for a winter's evening read and certain to bring a smile to the reader's face (although, I was pretty nervous as I read about Mrs. Brown's misadventure!) It might not have the moral value of Dickens' superb "A Christmas Carol", but "Christmas at Thompson Hall" is a warm, humorous story that just happens to take place around Christmas time!
List of Characters ~
Mrs. Mary Brown, the unlucky heroine
Mr. Charles Brown, the afflicted husband
Mr. Jones, the wronged man
The night porter, the witness to Mrs. Brown's night wanderings
Miss Jane Thompson, the engaged sister
Uncle John and Cousin Robert, the relatives
*(to learn how to make a mustard plaster or what ingredients are used, visit this site and look at number 37 http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/grannymain.html.)
In this screwball comedy, set during the 1870s, Anthony Trollope tells a charming, humorous story about two people on their way to their family's Christmas gathering.
Mrs. Brown and her husband live in France. Mrs. Brown's family lives in England, and every year the family gathers at Thompson Hall to celebrate Christmas. Mrs. Brown, however, has been unable to join her family for eight years because her husband dislikes traveling in the winter which might endanger his delicate health. This year, though, Mrs. Brown's family insists that she and her husband join them for the festivities. Jane Thompson, Mrs. Mary Brown's only sister, wants her to come to meet her fiance, who is traveling to Thompson Hall for the Christmas celebration.
Despite her husband's misgivings about the trip, Mrs. and Mr. Brown leave their home in Pau. They break their journey overnight at the Grand Hotel in Paris. Before he goes to bed, Mr. Brown pleads an increasingly painful sore throat. Mrs. Brown, who will not miss Christmas with her family, believes that he must be feigning his illness. Nonetheless, near midnight, she agrees to go in search of the hotel's mustard jar. What is the mustard for? A mustard plaster, an old-fashioned remedy for throat discomfiture.*
Mrs. Brown leavers her quarters, Room 333, in search of the salon. On the way, she gets lost in the dark hotel. The night porter rescues her. Too embarrassed to admit that she had come down to find the mustard jar, she lies that she is searching for her handkerchief, which she supposedly left in the salon. After the fruitless search, the porter escorts Mrs. Brown back to her room. She waits until the porter disappears. Then she hurries back down to the salon, fills her handkerchief with mustard, and begins her journey back to Room 333.
She returns to her room, opens the door and quietly slips in. Her husband has fallen asleep; she can hear his peaceful breathing. In the dark room, she places the hard-won mustard plaster on her husband's throat. Just as she has finished her deed, she discovers that she has made a ghastly mistake: she has put the mustard plaster on the wrong man!
This short story is ideal for a winter's evening read and certain to bring a smile to the reader's face (although, I was pretty nervous as I read about Mrs. Brown's misadventure!) It might not have the moral value of Dickens' superb "A Christmas Carol", but "Christmas at Thompson Hall" is a warm, humorous story that just happens to take place around Christmas time!
List of Characters ~
Mrs. Mary Brown, the unlucky heroine
Mr. Charles Brown, the afflicted husband
Mr. Jones, the wronged man
The night porter, the witness to Mrs. Brown's night wanderings
Miss Jane Thompson, the engaged sister
Uncle John and Cousin Robert, the relatives
*(to learn how to make a mustard plaster or what ingredients are used, visit this site and look at number 37 http://www.liferesearchuniversal.com/grannymain.html.)
