Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford
Crime thriller set in AMSTERDAM
Ten Great Christmas Books Set in LONDON
8th November 2025
Ten great Christmas book set in London. Christmas in London is a truly magical experience, transforming the city into a festive wonderland. Regent Street and Oxford Street sparkle with spectacular light displays, drawing crowds to admire the dazzling installations. You can find unique gifts and soak up the atmosphere at the various Christmas markets.
Ice skating rinks pop up in iconic locations like the Natural History Museum and Somerset House, offering a quintessential festive activity. From carol services in historic churches to festive window displays at major department stores, the air is thick with holiday cheer. London offers a captivating mix of traditional celebrations and modern, dazzling spectacles that define the holiday season.
Here are ten great Christmas books set in the city. They cover many genres and many an era – from Victorian to the present day.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It’s a snowy winter in London where we meet Ebenezer Scrooge, an old man who has become bitter with life, he is known for being cold and selfish. Scrooge profits off his impoverished community, financially benefitting off their labour whilst paying measly wages to his employees.
In the lead up towards Christmas, Scrooge is visited by the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley who informs Scrooge to expect 3 ghosts.
The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, show Scrooge what he needs to see before it’s too late, and we get to witness the mistakes of his past, the emptiness of his present and the dark future that awaits him.
Scrooge is considered one of the greatest redemption stories of all time. A magical story full of unforgettable moments, larger than life characters, a cautionary tale and a tale full of hope, expertly written by Charles Dickens.
Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Becky is hosting Christmas for the first time… what could possibly go wrong? The brilliant laugh-out-loud festive novel from the Number One bestselling author.
Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) adores Christmas. It’s always the same – Mum and Dad hosting, carols playing, Mum pretending she made the Christmas pudding, and the next-door neighbours coming round for sherry in their terrible festive jumpers.
And now it’s even easier with online bargain-shopping sites – if you spend enough you even get free delivery. Sorted!
But this year looks set to be different. Unable to resist the draw of craft beer and smashed avocado, Becky’s parents are moving to ultra-trendy Shoreditch and have asked Becky if she’ll host Christmas this year. What could possibly go wrong?
With sister Jess demanding a vegan turkey, husband Luke determined that he just wants aftershave again, and little Minnie insisting on a very specific picnic hamper – surely Becky can manage all this, as well as the surprise appearance of an old boyfriend and his pushy new girlfriend, whose motives are far from clear . . .
Will chaos ensue, or will Becky manage to bring comfort and joy to Christmas?
A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
London, the week before Christmas, 2007. Over seven days, we follow the lives of seven major characters: a hedge fund manager trying to bring off the biggest trade of his career; a professional footballer recently arrived from Poland; a young lawyer with little work and too much time to speculate; a student who has been led astray by Islamist theory; a hack book-reviewer; a schoolboy hooked on skunk and reality TV; and, a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these and countless other lives together in a daily loop. With daring skill, the novel pieces together the complex patterns and crossings of modern urban life. Greed, the dehumanising effects of the electronic age and the fragmentation of society are some of the themes dealt with in this savagely humorous book. The writing on the wall appears in letters ten feet high, but the characters refuse to see it – and party on as though tomorrow is a dream. Sebastian Faulks probes not only the self-deceptions of this intensely realised group of people, but their hopes and loves as well. As the novel moves to its gripping climax, they are forced, one by one, to confront the true nature of the world they inhabit.
Love Actually by Richard Curtis
From the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones’s Diary comes the essential companion to the smash-hit movie, LOVE ACTUALLY.
Set in contemporary London just before Christmas and weaving together a series of touchingand hilarious stories, LOVE ACTUALLY is a romantic comedy that looks at the funny, sad and often stupid sides of love.
With an all-star cast, including Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Rowan Atkinson, LOVE ACTUALLY is for everyone that’s ever been in love and laughed about it …
Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters
Charlotte hates the holidays. As a former child actress, she starred in a Christmas movie, whose fans won’t let her move on. When a piece revealing that her reluctance nixed plans for a reboot, she flees to London to spend the festive season with her sister.
But the ghosts of Christmas past follow her when she visits Eden Priory, one of the filming locations. When she’s accidentally left behind, she’s forced to accept a ride back to London from Graham, the son of the owners. Their family business – and the funds to keep their historic house running – relies on holiday cheer, and Graham knows seasons greetings from a certain star would bring in more visitors.
Now an illustrator, Charlotte accepts a commission illustrating iconic holiday movie scenes in London and its environs for Eden Priory, with Graham offering to escort her. But as Charlotte’s chaotic family holiday goes awry, she begins spending more time with Graham. Charlotte may not love a Christmas romance . . . but what if she has one of her own?
Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay
The number one Sunday Times bestseller, Adam Kay’s festive hospital diaries, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas, is the perfect stocking filler from the author of multi-million-copy bestseller This is Going to Hurt – now a major BBC TV series.
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat . . . but 1.4 million NHS staff are heading off to work. In this perfect present for anyone who has ever set foot in a hospital, Adam Kay delves back into his diaries for a hilarious, horrifying and sometimes heartbreaking peek behind the blue curtain at Christmastime.
This is a love letter to all those who spend their festive season on the front line, removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck, at the most wonderful time of the year.
Crime At Christmas by CHB Kitchen
A Christmas party in Hampstead is rudely interrupted by a violent death. Can the murderer be one of the relatives and intimate friends celebrating the festive season in the great house? The stockbroker sleuth Malcolm Warren investigates, in this brilliantly witty mystery from this classic crime writer. First published in 1934, the second in the Malcolm Warren series sees our some-time detective unravel the mystery behind two gruesome deaths in a mere twenty-four hours. A master of suspense and surprise, Kitchin sets the festive scene by conjuring up the most vivid of characters and presents us with a likeable narrator to guide us through.
Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford
‘Christmas Day was organized by Lady Bobbin with the thoroughness and attention to detail of a general leading his army into battle . . .’
The formidable fox-hunter Lady Bobbin is holding a Christmas house party. Attendees include her rebellious daughter Philadelphia, a pompous suitor, a couple of children poring over newspaper death notices, and a dejected writer whose first serious novel has been declared the funniest book of the year. Add to the mix beautiful ex-courtesan Amabelle Fortescue and her guests staying in a neighbouring cottage and you have a ribald tale of true love and false fidelity, hijinks and low morals, not to mention the consumption of a considerable quantity of Christmas spirit.
A Ration Book Christmas by Jean Fullerton
With Christmas approaching, the Brogan family of London’s East End are braving the horrors of the Blitz. With the men away fighting for King and Country and the ever-present dangers of the German Luftwaffe’s nightly reign of death and destruction, the family must do all they can to keep a stiff upper lip.
For Jo, the youngest of the Brogan sisters, the perils of war also offer a new-found freedom. Jo falls in love with Tommy, a man known for his dangerous reputation as much as his charm. But as the falling bombs devastate their neighbourhood and rationing begins to bite, will the Brogans manage to pull together a traditional family Christmas? And will Jo find the love and security she seeks in a time of such grave peril?
Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillroy
When Vivian Forest gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a member of the royal family, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent and unyielding formality.
Malcolm Hudson has never given a personal, private tour in his time with the royals – until now. Intrigued by Vivian, he finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. Soon, flirtatious banter, results in a kiss under the mistletoe sure to keep the frostiest winter chill at bay.
With Vivian’s return to the US fast approaching, she and Malcolm will have to decide if this is simply a holiday romance or a love affair to change their lives.
Enjoy our selection of London set Christmas books.
Tony for the TripFiction Team
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