''The Christmas Tree'' is Irish author Jennifer Johnston's sixth novel, first published in 1981 by

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

. It has been suggested by ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' as being her finest work,City of Words - Dublin and its writers
''The Irish Times''. Retrieved 2012-09-26. and was chosen by the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' to be published as one of the books its "Irish Women Writers" collection. It is one of U.S. writer

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Ann Shriver; May 18, 1957) is an American author and journalist who lives in the United Kingdom. Her novel '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Early life and education Shriver ...

's favourite books and was adapted for television in 1986.''The Christmas Tree'' at the Internet Movie Database
Retrieved 2012-09-28.

Plot introduction

At the age of 45, Constance Keating a failed writer living in London, having just given birth to a daughter is told that the weakness she had been experiencing was not as a result of her pregnancy but due to

Leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. She has returned to her childhood home in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

, a suburb of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, determined to die at home and not fight the disease in hospital - much to the consternation of her sister Bibi, who has agreed to look after the baby. She writes to Jacob Weinberg, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor with whom she had a brief affair whilst on holiday in Italy, to tell him he is a father and inviting him to come and take the baby away and look after it. As Christmas approaches and the disease advances, she drinks whisky and the occasional painkiller, under the care of Bill, her sympathetic GP, and Bridie, a young Catholic girl recruited by her sister. The narrative switches between her slow decline and episodes from past life, including leaving

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

and moving to London, her literary failures, the death of her parents, and prominently her short time spent with Jacob.

Reception

* Caroline Moorehead in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' praises Johnston, "She is a skilful writer, using short flashbacks... in such a way that each page widens the picture. You start with a solitary woman, dying alone; you finish with a past, a history, great tenderness and no sentimentality"The Christmas Tree: Jennifer Johnston: 9780241106730: Amazon.com: Books
Retrieved 2012-09-26. *The ''Irish Times'' selects the novel as one of twelve representing the best writing from Dublin: "Constance emerges as a brave, optimistic character and yet again Jennifer Johnston demonstrates not only what a good writer she is, but her astute understanding of human behaviour – the fears, the defiance and the small acts of courage – in a novel, so remarkable, it may well be her finest". *

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

begins, "a small, spare novel that uses perfect detail and disarming, plain-edged prose to transcend its rather familiar outline" and concludes "a sad, pinched tale strangely blossoms into something warm and joyous. From start to finish: an impeccable piece of realistic fiction, with routine material transcended by art at its most clear-eyed and unpretentious". *Martyn Goff in the ''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'' writes "It is difficult to convey the marvellous quality of this book. Constance Keating is a major fictional portrait, her death finally noble".

Publication history

*1981, UK, Hamish Hamilton, , Pub date 17 Sep 1981, Hardback *1982, US, William Morrow, , Pub date Jan 1982, Hardback *1982, UK, Fontana, , Pub date 28 Oct 1982, Paperback *1986, UK, Flamingo, , Pub date 10 Feb 1986, Paperback *1989, UK, Penguin, , Pub date 23 Nov 1989, Paperback *1999, UK, Headline, , Pub date 07 Oct 1999, Paperback www.fantasticfiction.co.uk
Retrieved 2012-11-30.

Television adaptation

The novel was adapted for television in 1986 by

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

with a screenplay by

William Corlett William Corlett (8 October 1938 – 16 August 2005), was an English author, best known for his quartet of children's novels, ''The Magician's House'', published between 1990 and 1992. Biography Corlett was born in Darlington, County Durham. H ...

and directed by

Herbert Wise Herbert Wise (31 August 1924 – 5 August 2015) was an Austrian-born film and television producer and director. He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria, and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at H ...

. The cast included: *Constance -

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, ha ...

*Jacob -

Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English film, television and voice actor, director, narrator and writer. He was twice nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his roles in ''A Room with a View (1985 ...

*Bill - T. P. McKenna *Bibi -

Fiona Walker Fiona Walker (born 24 May 1944) is an English actress, known for numerous theatre and television roles between the 1960s and 1990s. An early leading role was as Sue Bridehead in a BBC television production of ''Jude the Obscure'' (1971). She ma ...

*Bridie - Maeve Germaine

References

External links

''The Christmas Tree'' by Jennifer Johnston - Reading MattersHéritages et exotismes dans ''The Christmas Tree'' de Jennifer Johnston
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas Tree 1981 Irish novels Novels by Jennifer Johnston Novels set in Dublin (city) Novels about cancer Leukemia Christmas novels Hamish Hamilton books Novels about writers