Roads

By Seabury Quinn, Virgil Finlay (illustrator),

Book cover of Roads: A Legend of Santa Claus

Book description

Drawing upon the original Christian legends that coalesced over centuries into the familiar, jolly form of Saint Nicholas, pulp fiction pioneer Seabury Quinn weaves a spellbinding new origin for this most beloved of children’s icons in his classic novella Roads.“I have not tried to paint the portrait of a man,…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Roads as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

To my mind, this is the finest of all Christmas stories. Written by Seabury Quinn in 1938, it successfully combines two supremely different sorts of Christmas stories. One style is religious and involves the Nativity and the infant Jesus. The other type, of course, is tales of Santa Claus, often explaining his origin.

I cannot recall any fiction that combines these two motifs, a type of story that is sadly missing from our culture except for this book, which blends the true meaning of Christmas with the Santa Claus narrative and does it to perfection.

Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol…

If you love Roads...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Want books like Roads?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 99 books like Roads.

Browse books like Roads

Book cover of The People of the Mist
Book cover of Celestial Chess
Book cover of Congo

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,884

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Roads, you might also like...

Book cover of Conditions are Different After Dark

Conditions are Different After Dark by Owen W. Knight,

In 1662, a man is wrongly executed for signing the death warrant of Charles I. Awaiting execution, he asks to speak with a priest, to whom he declares a curse on the village that betrayed him. The priest responds with a counter-curse, leaving just one option to nullify it.

Four…

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Santa Claus, schizophrenia, and Christmas?

Santa Claus 29 books
Schizophrenia 62 books
Christmas 273 books