Three funny Christmas books that will make me cry this Christmas
- flora183
- Dec 8, 2025
- 2 min read
Hannah Langdon's three Christmas books, Christmas with the Lords, Christmas with the Knights and Christmas with the Princes all deserve a re-read in my opinion, but read on to find out why I'm going to get emotional when I do that.
Penny Windlesham is stunned when her long-term boyfriend suddenly dumps her, leaving her with a broken heart just in time for Christmas. At a loose end, she accepts a job as a short-term nanny to a family she’s never met. Climbing aboard a train bound for the Dorset countryside, a tear rolls down her cheek. Alone, working and amongst strangers… could her Christmas be any less magical?
When event planner Fallon Honeywood collapses from overwork after a particularly punishing Christmas party, she reluctantly agrees to spend the holidays with her soap opera-star mother at Blakeney Hall, a grand English manor on the frosty Yorkshire moors. But what starts as an awkward family reunion soon becomes an unexpected adventure…
When Laura Wilde arrives at the snow-dusted English estate of Lyonscroft for Christmas, she's fleeing her sister's wedding chaos and seeking refuge in her job as a private nurse. But this enchanting manor holds secrets – not least why the devastatingly handsome heir, Nick Prince, seems determined to keep everyone at arm's length...
Why will I be crying as I re-read these books this Christmas even though they're funny books?
Because, tragically, the author, Hannah Langdon passed away this year at the unfairly young age of 49 from a brain aneurism. She was sweet, funny, devoted to her family and her career as a primary school teacher and an example to us all of utter determination – writing two novels a year on top of all her other commitments.
When she and I first met at the RNA Conference two years ago, I was still plucking up the courage to publish my first book and she was so supportive, reading it through and making some helpful suggestions – and posting really sweet reviews when I did finally publish Summer at Tillingford Hall.
The world needs more people like Hannah and, feeling bereft of someone who I know would have become a really good friend if only we’d had to the chance, has put a little cloud over what has otherwise been a brilliant year for me. And it’s made me even more determined in my aim to bring light and joy to the world because we never know how long we’ve got, so let’s live as brightly as we can while we can.
And please honour the memory of a lovely lady and support her family by buying and enjoying these lovely Christmas books.
