Publications

Victorian Christmas Ghosts, Valancourt Press, 2016.Picture

A short story collection, edited by Tara Moore

The Victorians loved their Christmas, but partly because it brought a chance for them to sit together and tell ghost stories.  Magazines joined the ritual by printing stories for spooky fireside readings.  This collection explores the many themes of Victorian Christmas ghosts with a few tips about how to read like a Victorian.

 

Christmas: The Sacred to Santa, Reaktion Press, 2014 (paperback 2015).Product Details

This book takes readers on a journey from the day’s historic origins to its modern incarnation as a global commercial event, even taking in non-Christian nations such as China, Japan, and North Korea.

Along the way, we encounter a vast array of religious personages, fictional characters, and mythic figures that have become associated with its celebration. From St. Nicholas to the Magi, Scrooge to the Krampus, Christmas has certainly worn many costumes and continues to signified a wealth of meaning.

 

Victorian Christmas in Print, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Product Details

Although people may not realize it, the modern Christmas book market carries on a Victorian legacy.

An explosion of Christmas print matter reinvigorated and regularized the holiday during the mid-Victorian period. This infused Christmas with emotionally-charged expectations of reading.

As Victorian shopping customs evolved, publishers satisfied consumers with a range of holiday print matter, including novels, ghost stories, periodicals, children’s books, and poetry.