At the most magical time of the year, will Mary choose independence or love? It's 1909 and Mary Richards has worked hard to gain an education and become a teacher in her close-knit, picturesque village in the Cotswolds, but not everyone approves of her modern ways. When her sister Emily becomes engaged to David Christmas, it seems fate will intervene in the form of the best man: his eligible brother Johnathon. Mary finds herself in danger of falling for this handsome, almost too perfect stranger, only married women have to give up their careers as soon as they’re wed and there’s no way Mary is going to sacrifice her dreams for a man. Yet the ancient village of Bibury has a way of weaving its magic over them all, and as the winter snows fall and Emily’s Christmas-Day wedding approaches, Mary isn’t immune to the romance of the season. In the end she must decide whether she’s ready to embrace love or not, and if she can truly have the best of both worlds on the eve of what could well be the merriest Christmas of them all. ‘You need to find a way to have your independence and love too. A Christmas miracle.’ Praise for Mary-Anne O'Connor ‘Mary-Anne O'Connor is historical fiction royalty.’ GOODREADS 'Beautiful, engaging storytelling.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ‘Historical fiction of a quality that will take you on a beguiling roller-coaster ride.’ BETTER READING ‘So breathtakingly beautiful . . . Mary-Anne O’Connor truly is the Queen of Australian Historical Romance.’ GOODREADS