Christmas at Thompson Hall brings together the best of the Christmas stories of Anthony Trollope, one of the most successful, prolific, and respected English novelists of the nineteenth century. Characterized by insightful, psychologically rich, and sometimes wryly humorous depictions of the middle class and gentry of Victorian England—and inspired occasionally by missives in the “lost letter” box of the provincial post office that Trollope ran—these tales helped to enshrine the traditions of the decorated Christmas tree, the holiday turkey, and the giving of store-bought gifts. Today, they open a window onto a time when carolers filled the streets and each house’s door displayed a wreath of evergreen boughs, a time at once distant and yet startlingly familiar. This collection includes: Christmas at Thompson Hall—Christmas day at Kirkby Cottage—The mistletoe bough—The two generals—Not if I know it.

From the Forward by Joanna Trollope: "The stories in this volume are dominated by free-spirited girls. The young men possess the financial power, and the terrible ultimate power of keeping their promise of marriage, but they don't have the power of personality. Circled by girls like Patience Woolsworthy and Lucy Graham and Ophelia Gledd, the men often give the impression of longing to escape because these girls—frank, brave, gay and steadfast—are simply too much for them … A girl’s true dowry, Trollope says, is herself, and he applauds her for insisting on being valued for her own sake."