CHRISTMAS PAST

In this cloying novella, T.J. and Madison Carmichael, both high-powered entertainment brokers in Nashville, take their children to a remote bed-and-breakfast for Christmas, trying to hide the fact that their marriage is on the skids. But the innkeepers are not just dressed in period costume; their world is that of 1893, and the Carmichaels begin to suspect that they have bypassed a cozy historical re-enactment for the actual 19th century. (The outdoor privies are a big hint.) The novella's Victorian details are historically accurate, but the era is painted in an entirely romantic fashion, with cardboard characters who seem to have stepped directly from a Currier and Ives print quoting scripture. T.J. and Madison are better drawn, with sharp edges and a suggestion of smoldering marital resentment—though their children are implausibly mature and pious. Overall, there's a little too much sugar in this batch of nog. (Oct. 2)