An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

133. Christmas churches

December 23, 2021

Description

Fan favourite Rachel Morley from Friends of Friendless Churches is back to count down her top ten churches with a festive connection Go to restishistorypod.com to access bonus episodes, an...
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Books Referenced

Charles Dickens: A Life

Author: Claire Tomalin

Context:

Rachel recommends Claire Tomalin's biography of Charles Dickens when discussing A Christmas Carol, saying it has loads of information and she would recommend Claire Tomalin's biography on absolutely anything

Thomas Hardy biography

Author: Claire Tomalin

Context:

Mentioned alongside other biographies by Claire Tomalin as examples of her excellent biographical work

Samuel Pepys biography

Author: Claire Tomalin

Context:

Mentioned alongside other biographies by Claire Tomalin as examples of her excellent biographical work

The Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James

Author: M.R. James

Context:

Discussed in the context of M.R. James's Christmas tradition of reading ghost stories; Rachel quotes from Daryl Jones's introduction to the collected edition describing the typical M.R. James story structure

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Author: Ian Fleming

Context:

Mentioned when discussing St. James's Burton Lazarus church in Leicestershire, where Count Louis Zabrowski (owner of the real Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car) is buried - Ian Fleming wrote his novel based on this car

The Dark is Rising

Author: Susan Cooper

Context:

Rachel mentions Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising books when discussing the Welsh Mari Lwyd tradition, noting there's a frightening scene in the book where characters are trapped in a church while demons bash on the windows outside

A Christmas Carol

Author: Charles Dickens

Context:

Extensively discussed as one of the most beloved Victorian ghost stories, with details about its publication history, adaptation count, and the church locations featured in the story