It was the marked contrast between people who loved and the people who
hated Christmas, which inspired this story. 'The Woman Who Hated
Christmas' tells the story of one such person, Beth Malone. As a child
of ten years around Christmas Day Beth's mother dies in childbirth along
with the stillborn infant. Sickened with grief, her father becomes
emotionally unstable, is committed to the psychiatric ward of a local
hospital and commits suicide. Left on her own with two younger sisters,
Beth and her sisters are taken into Care of the Local Authority. The
family is forcibly separated and do not see each other again. Beth
rebels. Her foster homes are firstly resented by her and then come to be
gravely feared by her. The story follows Beth through her life, first in
Ireland, then in the mills of West Yorkshire, then on the streets of
Manchester and finally back in Ireland where the story ends. For Beth,
the experiences of Christmas are ones she would prefer to forget. Enjoy