Christmas Holiday (novel)

Christmas Holiday is a 1939 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It tells the story of Charley Mason, a young, naive Englishman, who while on a Christmas holiday in Paris, meets and becomes infatuated with Lydia, a White Russian woman working as a taxi dancer. Through his interactions with Lydia and her husband, Robert Berger, a convicted murderer and pimp, Charley's conventional and somewhat sheltered worldview is challenged and ultimately shattered.

The novel explores themes of innocence, disillusionment, morality, and the dark underbelly of Parisian society. Maugham uses Charley's naive perspective to contrast with the harsh realities faced by Lydia and Robert, highlighting the disparities between social classes and the consequences of war and poverty. The narrative offers a critique of bourgeois values and explores the psychological impact of trauma and societal injustice. While nominally a holiday narrative, the "Christmas" setting provides a stark contrast to the grim realities depicted, further emphasizing the themes of disillusionment and the loss of innocence.