Old Christmas - Softcover

Irving, Washington

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1544089589 ISBN 13: 9781544089584

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

Synopsis

There is nothing in England that exercises a more delightful spell over my imagination than the lingerings of the holiday customs and rural games of former times. They recall the pictures my fancy used to draw in the May morning of life, when as yet I only knew the world through books, and believed it to be all that poets had painted it; and they bring with them the flavour of those honest days of yore, in which, perhaps with equal fallacy, I am apt to think the world was more home-bred, social, and joyous than at present. I regret to say that they are daily growing more and more faint, being gradually worn away by time, but still more obliterated by modern fashion. They resemble those picturesque morsels of Gothic architecture which we see crumbling in various parts of the country, partly dilapidated by the waste of ages, and partly lost in the additions and alterations of latter days. Poetry, however, clings with cherishing fondness about the rural game and holiday revel, from which it has derived so many of its themes,—as the ivy winds its rich foliage about the Gothic arch and mouldering tower, gratefully repaying their support by clasping together their tottering remains, and, as it were, embalming them in verdure.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Warmly convivial and delightfully festival, this charming and long forgotten holiday classic, by one of American literature's most beloved writers, was inspired, in part, by Dickens' A Christmas Carol and other celebrations of oldtime Yule.

Splendid suppers and rural churches, cheerful dances and hearty spirits imbue this short novel with the magic of the season. This festive work, first published in 1896, deserves to be a holiday tradition alongside Dickens in the celebrations of the winter solstice.

About the Author

Washington Irving (1783-1859) was an American author, short story writer, essayist, poet, travel book writer, biographer, and columnist. He has been called the father of the American short story. He is best known for 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' and 'Rip Van Winkle.'

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1544089589
• ISBN 13: 9781544089584
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 50