Death at the Village Christmas Fair is now available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. The third in the Cotswold Curiosity Shop cosy mystery series, it may also be read as a standalone novel.
When, as a child, I used to play with my grandma’s button box, I admired each button like a tiny work of art.
Born in 1900, Grandma grew up fastening her button-boots with buttonhooks. As a young woman, she embraced flapper styles. The contents of her tin gave a miniature history of twentieth-century fashion.
My mum (91) still has her own button box from when she used to make clothes for her children. Her 21st birthday present was a hand-cranked Singer sewing machine, on which I later learned to sew.
My grandma and my mum used old toffee tins as button boxes. But my buttons live in a smart Cath Kidston tin, labelled The Book of Buttons. My daughter uses a tartan shortbread tin to house hers.
The contents of every button box are unique. Plunging your hand in is like a lucky dip. You never knew which tiny treasure you’ll pull out, nor its provenance.
• Whose duffle coat did this toggle once fasten?
• Which child fiddled with this little blue one on their school cardigan during a tedious lesson?
• What kind of party dress did this diamante disc once adorn?
Last century, every home had a button box. These days, with fewer people making their own clothes, it’s an endangered species. Yet it’s easy to keep the tradition alive. You can buy interesting vintage buttons in any charity shop or thrift store. If you’re lucky, you’ll find something similar to the fancy fastener at the heart of the mystery in my new novel, Death at the Village Christmas Fair.
When Wendy chooses a bear-shaped button from her daughter Alice’s Cotswold Curiosity Shop and sews it onto a hand-knitted scarf, it soon becomes a vital clue in the hunt for a ruthless killer. The unusual scene of the crime is a Santa Run, in which hundreds of fun-runners race dressed as Father Christmas. What’s so special about Wendy’s little wooden bear? You’ll have to read my novel to find out!
Do you have a button box in your home? What’s your most unusual button? Which is your favourite, and why?