The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories: From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter

by Jessica Harrison Narrated by Shaniqua Okwok

Overview

Brought to you by Penguin.

Truman Capote makes whisky-soaked fruitcake in Alabama; Laurie Lee slides across a frozen pond in Gloucestershire; and Shirley Jackson is outwitted by a wily Santa Claus at the bank. Ghosts haunt the Christmases of Muriel Spark and Elizabeth Bowen, while Dostoyevsky, Daphne du Maurier and Italo Calvino take a cynical view of the season and Selma Lagerlof and Angela Carter celebrate its miracles. Ranging from Cork to Lagos to the Wild West, and from Paris to San Paolo to outer space, this is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short-story writers of all time.

(P) Penguin Audio 2020

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter, this greatest hits compilation also happens to be beautifully published. Inside you’ll find ghosts, miracles, grouchy curmudgeons, and plenty of snow.” ―Daily Mail (“Books of the Year”)

“Perfect for any looming Boxing Day boredom.” ―The Herald (Scotland)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177572512
Publisher:	Random House UK
Publication date:	11/26/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

Contents

“The Fir Tree” by Hans Christian Andersen
“The Cat on the Dovrefjell” by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe
“A Christmas Party and a Wedding” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“St. Anthony and His Pig” by Paul Arène
“Boys” by Anton Chekhov
“Midnight Mass” by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis
“Reginald’s Christmas Revel” by Saki
“The Legend of the Christmas Rose” by Selma Lagerlöf
“A Chaparral Christmas Gift” by O. Henry
“Noël” by Irène Némirovsky
“Dancing Dan’s Christmas” by Damon Runyon
“The Necklace of Pearls” by Dorothy L. Sayers
“One Christmas Eve” by Langston Hughes
“The Christmas Turkey” by Mário de Andrade
“Green Holly” by Elizabeth Bowen
“Christmas Morning” by Frank O’Connor
“A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas
“The Little Restaurant near Place des Ternes” by Georges Simenon
“The Gift” by Ray Bradbury
“A Visit to the Bank” by Shirley Jackson
“The Prisoners” by Bienvenido Santos
“The Leaf-Sweeper” by Muriel Spark
“A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote
“The Loan” by Wolfdietrich Schnurre
“Christmas Eve” by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen
“The Loudest Voice” by Grace Paley
“A Cold Christmas Walk in the Country” by Laurie Lee
“Santa’s Children” by Italo Calvino
“Christmas” by Tove Jansson
“Just Because of Xmas” by Cyprian Ekwensi
“Noël. Texas. 1956” by Lucia Berlin
“The Ghost Ships” by Angela Carter

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