LEADER 00000pam  2200325 i 4500 
003    DLC 
005    20160307153732.0 
008    150316s2015    nyu    e      000 1 eng   
010      2015009505 
020    9780525955245 (hardcover) 
040    DLC|beng|erda|cDLC|dNjBwBT|dGCmBT|dUtOrBLW 
042    pcc 
092    |fF|aCHIAVERI 
100 1  Chiaverini, Jennifer,|eauthor. 
245 10 Christmas bells :|ba novel /|cJennifer Chiaverini. 
250    First edition. 
264  1 New York, New York :|bDutton,|c[2015] 
300    317 pages ;|c22 cm 
336    text|2rdacontent 
337    unmediated|2rdamedia 
338    volume|2rdacarrier 
520    "New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini 
       celebrates Christmas, past and present, with a wondrous 
       novel inspired by the classic poem "Christmas Bells," by 
       Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I heard the bells on 
       Christmas Day/ Their old familiar carols play/ And wild 
       and sweet/ The words repeat/Of peace on earth, good-will 
       to men!   In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family 
       celebrated Christmas at Craigie House, their home in 
       Cambridge, Massachusetts. The publication of Longfellow's 
       classic Revolutionary War poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," was 
       less than a month hence, and the country's grave political
       unrest weighed heavily on his mind. Yet with his beloved 
       wife, Fanny, and their five adored children at his side, 
       the delights of the season prevailed.  In present-day 
       Boston, a dedicated teacher in the Watertown public school
       system is stunned by somber holiday tidings. Sophia's 
       music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts, and she 
       worries not only about her impending unemployment but also
       about the consequences to her underprivileged students. At
       the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia 
       tries to forget her cares as she leads the children's 
       choir in rehearsal for a Christmas Eve concert. Inspired 
       to honor a local artist, Sophia has chosen a carol set to 
       a poem by Longfellow, moved by the glorious words he 
       penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered 
       great loss.  Christmas Bells chronicles the events of 1863,
       when the peace and contentment of Longfellow's family 
       circle was suddenly, tragically broken, cutting even 
       deeper than the privations of wartime. Through the pain of
       profound loss and hardship, Longfellow's patriotism never 
       failed, nor did the power of his language. "Christmas 
       Bells," the poem he wrote that holiday, lives on, spoken 
       as verse and sung as a hymn.  Jennifer Chiaverini's 
       resonant and heartfelt novel for the season reminds us why
       we must continue to hear glad tidings, even as we are 
       tested by strife. Reading Christmas Bells evokes the 
       resplendent joy of a chorus of voices raised in reverent 
       song"--|cProvided by publisher. 
600 10 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth,|d1807-1882|vFiction. 
650  0 Women teachers|vFiction. 
650  0 Christmas stories. 
655  7 Biographical fiction.|2gsafd 
655  7 Historical fiction.|2gsafd 
700 12 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth,|d1807-1882.|tChristmas bells.