Thomas Hardy's Christmas

The poems and novels of Thomas Hardy evoke not only joyful reunions, but also describe curious rituals, pagan superstitions and nostalgia for a simpler, happier past. Hardy portrayed Christmas repeatedly in his work, not only as the season for dancing, carousing and music, but also as a time charged with ghosts and strange beliefs. This anthology presents well-known Christmas and New Year scenes -- the Mellstock choir, the mummers and the darling thrush -- alongside less familiar accounts, and a largely forgotten Chrsitmas story involving highway robbers and a cupboard full of snuff which Hardy wrote for a children's annual early in his career. Readers will also learn how to charm a bull.