The perfect Christmas gift: three unforgettable visits to America's favorite small town. In Mitford, a village nestled in the hills of North Carolina, Jan Karon depicts small-town life as it really is--completely engrossing and absolutely hilarious. "Devotees of gentle fiction will lose themselves in Karon's books."--Rocky Mountain News.

In the two millennia since Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote their separate biographies of Jesus, only a handful of other authors have attempted renditions--Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and D. H. Lawrence have tried their hands at it; scholars E. P. Sanders and Raymond Brown have produced academic treatises on the historical Jesus. Perhaps the best-known fictional account of the life of Jesus is Nikos Kazantzakis's The Last Temptation of Christ, which explores the Son of Man's all-too-human side. Norman Mailer joins these ranks with The Gospel According to the Son.

The book's prologue dramatically sets the stage by telling how, long after Jesus' death, some of his followers bring an old woman a parchment scroll on which they have painstakingly assembled Jesus' story, piercing together what they remember of him. They come to her because, as "the one Jesus loved," she knew him best. She listens carefully to their "gospel" and, when they are through, tersely responds that "it wasn't like that....There is too much to say to end it here." And thus begins her gospel, the first full gospel from a woman's point of view.

Written in defense of Christian faith, this popular satire consists of a series of 31 letters in which Screwtape, an experienced devil, instructs his young charge, Wormwood, in the art of temptation. Confounded by church doctrines and a faithful Christian woman, their efforts are defeated when their subject--a World War II pilot--dies in a bombing raid with his soul at peace.

When Katie Lapp finds the satin infant gown in the trunk in her parents' attic, she knows it holds a secret she must discover. Why else would her Amish mother, a plain and simple woman who embraces the Old Order laws, hide the beautiful baby dress in the attic? But nothing could have prepared Katie for the startling news that stumbles out of her anguished parents on the eve of her wedding to Bishop John.

Seduced by the lure of the underworld, graduate student Simon Rawnson crosses over to serve as a warrior for Nudd, lord of the eternal damned, but his actions open up a dangerous breach between two worlds.

Wealthy industrialist Max Stevens is not prepared for the challenge of fatherhood when a set of needy infant twins are dropped on his doorstep! So he enlists the help of his former financee, Kaitland, to care for the babies. Max still secretly yearns for Kaitland, but he believes that she betrayed their love. But when God--and two precious babies--open the door to faith and healing, Max is drawn further into their loving little family circle.

Cash Langley was deeply hurt when his late sister gave guardianship of his only niece to her best friend, Jean Everett. Suddenly, he was pitted against the lovely lady for custody of baby Angie. But Cash couldn't help but be drawn in by Jane's warmth, motherly devotion--and her unfaltering faith. Especially when he learned that Jane had secretly adored him for years. Could Cash learn to break free of the pain of the past, accept God's love--and embrace the gift of a devoted family?

When an emotionally vulnerable Paige Hawthorne's beloved employer died under mysterious circumstances, Jonah Sterling promised to help unravel the mystery. And when Paige's very own life was threatened, Jonah vowed to protect the woman he cherished. But years of trauma had shattered Paige's illusions about love. Still Jonah refused to believe that a happy Christian marriage was an impossible dream. And he knew that if he could restore Paige's faith in the heaven above, anything was possible.

Mix one part All Creatures Great and Small with two parts Lake Wobegon, sprinkle a little Anne of Green Gables and get: Mitford Falls, the pinnacle of provincial life, where homespun wisdom, guarded tradition, and principled faith are the precepts of good living. Jan Karon, purveyor of so-called "gentle fiction," continues the series that began with At Home in Mitford, in Out to Canaan. The patriarch of the tightly bound community of Mitford, North Carolina, is Father Timothy Kavanaugh, a.k.a. legal counsel, psychologist, foster parent, headhunter, husband, political analyst, and rector of his congregation. He is always there to lend a helping hand, a kind word or bit of advice, which believe it or not, makes for an incredibly busy schedule in this quiet, country town.