My Life in Santa’s Shadow

The tell-all memoir of a retired elf 

Made redundant from his job with a major toy manufacturer in recession hit Sheffield in the 1980s, Brendan responded to an advertisement in the Yorkshire Post which changed his life.

“Toymakers required. North Pole. Immediate start. Must be comfortable with animals, long hours and cold weather.”

Brendan is a naturalized elf, not a blood elf. In the late ‘80s there was a shortage of elves in the North Pole due to a catastrophic outbreak of elphitis, a malignant condition which attacks lazy elves. The Polar administration at that time decided to recruit so-called ‘New Elves’ from around the world. Brendan was part of this new wave of helpers who truly saved Christmas.

In this unique and unprecedented behind-the-scenes memoir, Brendan takes readers deep into Santa’s lair to illustrate just how 1.9 billion toys are assembled each year. Plus...what is an elf’s diet? Can elf co-workers enjoy workplace relationships? What sort of boss is Santa? Is the First Lady of Christmas, Mrs. Claus, all she’s made out to be? How does a retired elf adapt to life after the North Pole?

What’s covered in the book: 

• How Brendan changed the North Pole as the world’s first naturalized elf.
• The remarkable story of how Brendan fell in love with a blood elf named Margaret and changed non interelf marriage forever.
• Brendan unionized elves for the first time, giving Santa’s helpers workplace rights and increasing their standard of living.
• The extraordinary friendship which Brendan developed with the Big Man himself.
• The real reasons why elves wear pointed shoes and funny little hats.
• The explosive details about Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, Blixem and Rudolf.

“Couldn’t put it down…At times daring, this book blows the roof off the last of the secret kingdoms…’ Daily Mail

“Brendan has perhaps done more for elf workplace rights than any other employee of Santa…” The Guardian

“Heartwarming…apart from the elf sex” Good Housekeeping

For press enquiries and interview requests email publicity@northpole.com