Christmas communiques

I seem to get ‘round robin’ letters at Christmas time. These encompass news of house and career moves, children and health issues. I am always tempted to do a spoof one, but so far I have restrained myself.

There have been other books on this theme: Dear All: A Collection of Round Robins by Andrew and Caroline Duffy, and Oliver Pugh in 2004; and The Round Robin Letters: The Ultimate Collection of Christmas Letters by Simon Hoggart in 2014.  

Foster’s story is told through round robins from different families over many years. It covers relationships, growing families and businesses, and some setbacks. It is very funny. 

Foster, who was educated at Cambridge and called to the bar, was sidetracked into law publishing. She also worked in education and charity publishing.

She recalls how the book was conceived: ‘I had the idea for A Perfect Year? as a busy working parent in the mid-90s, a time when round robin letters became a regular annual thing. We’d sit around the kitchen table as a family reading them out, laughing at the funny bits and reflecting on the sad bits. I found myself wondering if I could construct a novel out of them – and eventually got round to writing it.’

One of the book’s main characters is a lawyer. Robert is a reserved tax/trusts solicitor who moves out of central London to a quiet backwater. Here, he has to deal with a succession of local dramas alongside the demands of his work.

This book, which won the self-published novel award at the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2025, is a seasonal treat.

David Pickup is a partner at Pickup & Scott Solicitors, Aylesbury