LocalLit book preview: A literary way to celebrate Christmas in July

Earlier this year, when I reviewed “Thornsby by Fred McLaren: The Complete Comic Collection” and then wrote An Extraordinary Life story about Fred McLaren, I only lightly touched on one important point.

Anf that point was how Fred McLaren’s mother, Matilda Rose McLaren, a homemaker, was also a freelance writer. When talking to McLaren’s son Tom McLaren, Tom felt Matilda partly inspired Fred’s creativity.

Tom also mentioned that one of Matilda’s stories was featured in an anthology called “Keeping Christmas: The Celebration of an American Holiday.”

The anthology, published in 1990, includes pieces by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ray Bradbury, Truman Capote, Langston Huges and Earl Hamner Jr.

Tom was proud (and rightly so) that his grandmother and Illinois writer had a piece included in this collection. The McLaren family lived in New Lenox for many years.

Of course, I had to order a copy. It’s this book I’ll be reviewing in Tuesday’s LocalLit newsletter.

Its Amazon description is brief: “Nineteenth and twentieth-century stories depict the meaning of Christmas for a variety of Americans.”

The book is available on Amazon and other sites that carry used books.

Subscribe to the free newsletter at shawlocal.com/the-herald-news/newsletter/#//.

Know more about LocalLit

Each week LocalLit will deliver an original short and family-friendly story (or a book review) by a local author to the newsletter’s subscribers.

Local writers: Do you have a book you’d like me to review? A short story you’d like to share with LocalLit subscribers?

Please contact me at 815-280-4122 or dunland@shawmedia.com.

Authors with a connection to our readership area may submit. Submission does not guarantee acceptance.