Christmas stories for the 2025 holiday season:

I love promoting the stories of other authors who have a connection to North and South. All the books featured here are written by authors who loved John Thornton and were inspired to write because of Gaskell’s story (and Richard Armitage, let’s be honest!).

A longer list of Christmas titles by North and South fans can be found here.

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Here are newly released stories:

New Beginnings at the Little Christmas Inn

By Hill, Georgia

Buy on Amazon

When Livvy's boyfriend bails on her just days before they're due to take over a run-down cliffside pub, she's left with a choice: give up or do it all alone. So, with a battered heart and a head full of dreams, she rolls up her sleeves and throws herself into transforming The George into the sophisticated gastropub she always imagined.
But Lullbury Bay has other plans.
From Silent Ernie and his cherry picker to the local quiz nights, festive frolics and a springer spaniel called Angel, Livvy soon finds herself swept into the warm and slightly bonkers embrace of village life. And then there's Mark—the kind, thoughtful, frustratingly handsome local who might just be exactly what Livvy needs... if she can open her heart again.
But when a string of unsettling events threatens everything she's built, Livvy must decide what really matters: style or substance, success or belonging, ambition or love?

A gorgeously festive, feel-good story full of quirky characters, cozy pub nights and Christmas magic.

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Buy on Amazon

Sophie used to adore everything about Christmas. Hot chocolate and velvet bows, fairy lights and mince pies.
Until the December her fiancé jilted her.
Since then, Sophie opened Sunnyside Hotel, a quaint guesthouse nestled deep in the Cumbrian countryside. And, though it might be winter at Sunnyside, it’s never Christmas.

Marketing her hotel to those who wish to avoid the festivities, Sophie is busy preparing for a season full of joy and laughter, but without the tinsel and mistletoe. Yet, as she finds herself growing closer to her gorgeous neighbor, Brody, her heart begins to melt.

Will this Christmas bring the touch of magic Sophie needs to give love another chance?

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Buy on Amazon

A year after Elizabeth Bennet’s refusal, Fitzwilliam Darcy lives with the echo of her words and the shadow of her absence. Christmastide brings no comfort—only duty, solitude, and a heart he cannot quiet. Yet when his cousin persuades him into joining a country house party at Kelton Manor, Darcy faces the one encounter he vowed to avoid: Elizabeth herself.

For Elizabeth, too much has changed. Lydia’s elopement has blackened her family’s name, and any hope of happiness is gone. To meet Mr. Darcy again is agony enough; to be trapped under the same roof at Christmas is almost unbearable. Surely he must despise her now.

But snowbound days and firelit nights weave their own magic. Between the strains of carols, the laughter of games, and the hush of a winter’s evening, Darcy and Elizabeth discover that regret is not the end of love. When a cherished keepsake reveals the depth of his devotion, Elizabeth must decide: can she trust her heart to him again, even when the world insists they are forever divided?

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And last but not least….

the latest John and Margaret Christmas story!

Buy on Amazon

When Mr. Bell dies unexpectedly, Margaret Hale inherits more than his estate—she inherits a legal complication she never anticipated. Summoned to a business meeting just days before Christmas, she is prepared for contracts, signatures, and uncomfortable formalities.
What she is not prepared for is John Thornton.

Once the proud master of Marlborough Mills, Thornton arrives in London carrying a failing business, a lifetime of duty, and a secret keepsake he has treasured for months. He expects nothing but loss—of his mill, his pride, and any final connection to the woman he has never forgotten.

But when a hidden clause in Mr. Bell’s will forces them into a private consultation, old misunderstandings resurface, truths emerge, and Margaret begins to see exactly how much Thornton has sacrificed for others… and for her.

As snow falls over London, Margaret uncovers a discovery that could save the mill, protect the workers of Milton, and bind her future irrevocably with John’s. Yet taking that step requires one thing she has never dared to risk: her heart.

Can love mend what pride once shattered?
And will this Christmas bring healing… or heartbreak?

Hannah Thornton as a Mother

What would it be like to have Hannah Thornton as your mother? I imagine most of us would cringe at the thought.

Hannah is definitely not the warm and fuzzy type, but she did happen to produce one heck of a hero! It was her determination and moral strength that set her son on the course to greatness in character and in his far-reaching business affairs.

On the whole, I greatly admire Hannah and love her for her tough nut determination and faith in her son. But we all know she wouldn’t be great fun to live with. 

My interest in this topic today is not necessary about how Margaret would fare living with the Old Crow, but how Hannah’s nature and mannerisms effected and shaped the lives and characters of her children. 

Hannah Thornton adores her son. (BBC image)

So what do we know about Hannah? Gaskell doesn’t give us any real information about her upbringing. And we’re given very little about her husband. We know her husband was duped or persuaded to make a very poor ‘investment’ which turned him into a debtor and ultimately caused him to take his life. She has worn black, or mourning colors, ever since. 

Hannah didn’t wait to become a charity case, but moved her children a ways out of town where John found work in a draper’s shop. Fanny might have been about 3, John about 16. They lived on very little while still setting aside money to pay back all the debt her husband had owed.

We know that she lost an infant or very small child - probably a baby she had between those gaping years between her living children.

All hats off to her for taking command of a dire situation and determining to live with purpose and dignity despite their toils. This is the biggest influence she could have given her son. Her determination to dismiss the shame that society would place on her family shows great courage, strength, and individual moral conviction and worth. These attributes she passes to John. And they stand out amid the superficial value structures upheld by unthinking class tradition and common social custom. 

Hannah is fiercely proud of her son, especially so when his undeviating commitment to following her payback plan brings him into great opportunities and he raises himself and his family to higher status, wealth, and respect. Her pride is justified. But is it too extreme, adversely affecting her ability to evaluate others more compassionately? Her son is perfection. No one else can hold a candle to him.

What about Fanny? How did she become so dissimilar to her brother? What would it have been like for her to have Hannah for a mother? 

The Thorntons at home. (BBC image)

We can infer from Hannah’s careful and patient treatment of her daughter that Fanny was protected from hardship throughout those difficult years. Fanny shows no signs of understanding the effort and self-sacrifice involved in what her mother and brother did. Was she given preferential treatment and special treats which grew into an attitude of entitlement?

There’s oh so much to consider in thinking about the life John lived before Margaret came on the scene. How do you think John was affected by living with a mother like Hannah? Was he introverted naturally, or was it enhanced by his mother’s less than warm and snuggly manner?

What attributes do you think he carried as a result of the years he lived with Hannah and Fanny? What was his home like and what might have been missing from it? Surely not order, but he longed, not even consciously, for more warmth and lightness in his home. We see that when he admires the Hale’s more lived-in home and sees the playful way Mr. Hale interacts with Margaret when she serves her father tea.

What would it have been like for both John and Fanny to live with Hannah? How did it shape them and affect the way they expressed themselves?

There’s no doubt that Hannah’s strength, resolution, and adherence to principles shaped her son’s character. Her desire to protect young Fanny from life’s harsh circumstances was natural and motherly, but being sheltered from hardship may have helped mold Fanny into a more careless and self-absorbed character.

One thing is certain. Hannah supported both her children in the best way she knew how. She would be there for you. And that is what every child deserves.

This article is updated from a post that originally appeared on a former North and South blog: West of Milton.

One London Eve - a new N&S story!

It’s been a long time since I last published, so I’m excited to announce that my new North and South variation novel is releasing today!

This story starts with a chance meeting between John and Margaret while Margaret is still living at Edith’s house in London.

I started writing this not long after I had finished publishing In Consequence in 2014. It’s been languishing for over ten years while I dealt with several family issues and a cross-continent move!

I’m so happy to have finished this project so that I can share it with those who love to find themselves in Milton again with their favorite Victorian couple.

I appreciate all your support over the years and look forward to continuing this blog and writing a few more stories!

I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Here’s the link. It’s also on Kindle Unlimited.