A Christmas Memory

A classic of American literature to enjoy this Christmas. A Christmas Memory is a festive tale by Truman Capote, originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in 1956. Since then, it has enjoyed countless reprints, as well as stage, film and television adaptations. It is the story of a friendship, and of the joy that friendship bestows — the joy of magical moments shared together, especially as Christmas draws near and, for Buddy and Sook, the woods become an enchanted place of anticipation and ritual. Yet it is also a story of separation, painful but inevitable, marking the close of one age and the beginning of another. Buddy is only seven, Sook some decades older. She is a distant cousin, and the two live in a house ruled by frosty relatives who tolerate them only grudgingly. Buddy and Sook are devoted to one another, and delight in all they do together. Kite-making is their great passion, and every year, as the holidays approach, they perform a private ritual: slipping into the woods to gather nuts and then, with the pennies saved over the year, heading out to buy flour, raisins and whisky to make fruitcake, their customary Christmas treat, for themselves and for their friends. But which friends, one wonders? Wavering between the everyday and the extraordinary, this Christmas will leave Buddy with a memory he will treasure forever. To keep it alive, he recounts its story, revealing himself as Truman Capote’s autobiographical voice. Though inspired by Dickens and the spirit of his Carol, A Christmas Memory is in truth a highly original concoction, blending festive charm, autobiography and a hint of drama. The warm, intimate and richly coloured brushstrokes of the New York illustrator Beth Peck bring to life this joyful, lyrical and irresistible friendship — a story of timeless appeal. Like Christmas itself.