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A Literary Christmas

A Literary Christmas

An Anthology

by Nancy MitfordBenjamin Zephaniah and Charles Dickens
Hardback
Publication Date: 01/11/2013

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'If then, there is to be a festival, why should it not be the festival of Christmas?', asked Arnold Bennett. For as long as Christmas has been celebrated poets and writers have sought to explore every aspect of it, whether the story of the nativity, or the festive traditions that have grown up over the centuries. A Literary Christmas is a seasonal compendium that collects together poems, short stories and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language. Like Charles Dickens's ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they are representative of times old and new - from John Donne's Elizabethan hymn over the baby Jesus to Benjamin Zephaniah's 'Talking Turkeys', from Thomas Tusser counting the cost of a Tudor feast to P G Wodehouse's wry short story about Christmas on a diet. Enjoy a convivial Christmas Day as described by Samuel Pepys, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot or Nancy Mitford. Venture out into the snow in the company of Jane Austen, Henry James and Dickens's ever-popular Mr Pickwick. Entertain the children with the seasonal tales of Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Grahame and Oscar Wilde.
For any lover of great literature, A Literary Christmas is the perfect gift. As a companion to the book, 'A literary Christmas' is also being released as a 2CD set at the same time. The audio recordings on the two discs feature readings of many of the same poems and prose extracts from the book.
ISBN:
9780712309684
9780712309684
Category:
Anthologies (non-poetry)
Format:
Hardback
Publication Date:
01-11-2013
Publisher:
The British Library Publishing Division
Country of origin:
United Kingdom
Pages:
160
Dimensions (mm):
210x149x22mm
Weight:
0.52kg
Nancy Mitford

Nancy Mitford was born in London on November 28 1904, daughter of the second Baron Redesdale, and the eldest of six girls. Her sisters included Lady Diana Mosley; Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire and Jessica, who immortalised the Mitford family in her autobiography Hons and Rebels.

The Mitford sisters came of age during the Roaring Twenties and wartime in London, and were well known for their beauty, upper-class bohemianism or political allegiances. Nancy contributed columns to The Lady and the Sunday Times, as well as writing a series of popular novels including The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate, which detailed the high-society affairs of the six Radlett sisters.

While working in London during the Blitz, Nancy met and fell in love with Gaston Palewski, General de Gaulle's chief of staff, and eventually moved to Paris to be near him. In the 1950s she began writing historical biographies - her life of Louis XIV, The Sun King, became an international bestseller. Nancy completed her last book, Frederick the Great, before she died of Hodgkin's disease on 30 June 1973.

Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah is a performer, musician, actor, and one of the UK's best-known poets. Born in Handsworth, Birmingham, Benjamin began writing and performing at the age of 11, and had his first collection of poetry published when he was 22. He has written more than 30 books for adults and children and is known all over the world for his powerful writing and performances.

Benjamin was a founding member of Artists Against Apartheid, and in 1996 he hosted the President's Two Nations Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London, at the request of Nelson Mandela. On August 29th 2007 he was the Master of Ceremonies at the unveiling of the statue of Nelson Mandela, again at his request, in Parliament Square. Benjamin is also a musician and was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley.

As well as writing poetry, novels, screenplays and stage plays, Benjamin has also written and presented documentaries for television and radio. He has been awarded 13 honorary doctorates in recognition of his work and a wing at The Ealing Hospital in West London has been named after him. As passionate about politics and poetry as he has ever been, Benjamin now lives in Lincolnshire.

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and became the most popular novelist of the Victorian era.

A prolific writer, he published more than a dozen novels in his lifetime, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and Hard Times, most of which have been adapted many times over for radio, stage and screen.

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