The first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me . . .
The air glitters with hope as the snowy village of Merrywake celebrates the Christmas season after the tumult of the Napoleonic Wars.
As the Viscount’s famous Twelfth Night Ball draws closer, many of the villagers have a story to tell – we meet a lovelorn vicar and kindly maid reunited after a misunderstanding, three sisters vying for the hand of a dastardly duke, two servants hiding a dangerous secret and a solider making his way home, unsure of the welcome he might receive. As their tales braid together, we see life and love in the village from belowstairs to high society.
Reimaging each of the traditional carol's gifts, and written in tribute to Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, The Twelve Days of Christmas is a collection of festive tales filled with seasonal cheer and heart-warming characters. Will the challenges and mysteries that the Viscount’s guests encounter be resolved by the night of the ball?
The Inspiration
I've always loved the idea of writing some fun light-hearted Christmas stories. The well-know carol 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' seemed like the perfect inspiration to create some, especially since the lyrics were originally written in the late eighteenth-century! My collection takes each of the gifts described in the song and reimagines them in a Georgian context, with characters that cross over throughout the stories to create a complete and (what I hope is) a satisfying whole. Inspired by my love and admiration of the works of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, I hope you enjoy my little collection of festive tales!
The carol itself has an elusive history. Like many traditional songs, it was passed down orally for generations before appearing in print in England around 1780 in a children's book entitled Mirth Without Mischief. The lyrics were intended to be recited as a cumulative memory game, with each verse building upon the last. Although the wording and order have evolved over the centuries, the familiar procession of partridges, pipers and swans has remained the same.
The Research
As the collection is set in 1816, my research took me into the world of Regency England in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. I explored not only the glittering side of the era - Christmas entertainments, festive gatherings, food and drink - but also the quieter realities of those left behind: the women waiting for husbands and sons who never returned, and the soldiers whose lives were forever changed by injury and hardship. I was particularly fascinated by the traditions surrounding Christmas and Twelfth Night, and the ways in which people found moments of celebration and connection during a time of great transition.
