Product Description

Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. While she's finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey holidays of her childhood.

What happened to the days when Christmas meant tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, over-the-top decorations, and long chats in front of the fire with Pearl, her grandmother's beloved housekeeper and closest confidante?

Luckily for Theodora, a special someone who heard her plea for help arrives, with pockets full of enough Gullah magic and common sense to make Theodora's Christmas the love-filled miracle it's meant to be.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18205 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

From Publishers Weekly
With her truculent family gathered at her stately Charleston mansion for Christmas, 93-year-old matriarch Theodora is having a hard time tolerating the lot of them. Theodora hankers for her 1920s childhood, when Pearl, the family's stern black maid, enforced strict houshold discipline and took no guff while working hard at Christmas, all the while singing gospel favorites such as Come en Go wid Me. When Theodora's usual maid is called away, Pearl herself (as a ghost) blows in, ready to set the house in order, She unearths the antique crèche and other Christmas heirlooms long buried, and altering the family's general bad temper. Frank (The Land of Mango Sunsets) includes homegrown recipes that further sweeten this Lowcountry holiday confection. (Nov.)
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About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. She and her long-suffering husband, Peter, divide their time between the New York area and Charleston, South Carolina, where their two children are in college and spending every last dime they earn. They thank you for your support.

Customer Reviews

I Want A Pearl Too!
This is a delightful bit of Southern Christmas magic that no one should miss. Theodora is the elderly matriarch of a very messed up family. This Christmas she's finally gotten them all together to celebrate, and all she really wants is a glorious, homespun holiday like when she was a girl. Enter Pearl--the now angel of her beloved childhood friend/nanny/housekeeper. Sassy, fun, and not above a dirty trick or two, these two ladies teach this disjointed family about what it means to love and respect both themselves and each other. I laughed a good deal reading this, and covet a Pearl of my own. There's bonus old Southern holiday recipes included in the book as well--yum!

Dorothea Benton Frank is the author of seven bestsellers
Her first was Sullivan's Island (Lowcountry Tales) and her newest is The Land of Mango Sunsets. In her newest The Christmas Pearl she explores the story of a fractured family --- their rivalries, insecurities, secrets, and lies --- and how, through the desperation of Theodora and the magic of Pearl, they rediscover their deep devotion to each other. Pull up a chair to the perfectly set holiday table while Frank shows the grand old house as it breathes and rattles in protest and her characters do the same. But despite all their problems, the truth is: love never dies. This volume includes the recipes that bring Theodora's family together and vintage photographs of winters gone by. It's a classic holiday story, unique because of its Gullah influences, and a contemplation of mysterious things we may never quite understand. And if you missed TIN0'S masterful novel: FATES I'd highly recommend it. I found it at a bookstore and it was great! Fates

A little holiday magic!
The Christmas Pearl

Ms Theodora is 93. Her children, their children all live in her childhood home, as is the custom. It is going to be Christmas Eve, but these days nothing is like it used to be. The families fight constantly, and Theodora doesn't know what to do. She gets help in an unexpected way, with a little bit of help from Clean Slate Punch and Reconciliation Eggnog thrown in, we have a short book but the message comes across.

Will everyone find it in themselves to try a bit harder to get along? Read and find out!! I really enjoyed this book. It was short, I read it within an hour. I loved every minute of it and who couldn't love ALL the recipes in the back?? That is a bonus!!!