A Literary Christmas

By: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth, Laurie Lee, Samuel Pepys

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson, Simon Callow

Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Read by Juliet Stevenson and Simon Callow, A Literary Christmas is a seasonal anthology that collects together poems, short stories, and prose extracts by some of the greatest poets and writers in the English language.

Like Charles Dickens’ ghosts of Christmas Past and Present, they are representative of times old and new - from John Donne’s Elizabethan hymn over the baby Jesus to Rudyard Kipling’s "Christmas in India", from Thomas Tusser counting the cost of a Tudor feast to Laurie Lee’s "Cider with Rosie".

Enjoy a convivial Christmas Day as described by Samuel Pepys, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, or Nancy Mitford. Venture out into the snow in the company of Jane Austen, Henry James, and Dickens’ ever-popular Mr Pickwick. Entertain the children with the seasonal tales of Dylan Thomas, Kenneth Grahame, Louisa May Alcott, and George Mackay Brown.

Please note: This is a vintage recording, and the audio quality reflects the technology of the time.

©2013 The British Library Board (P)2013 The British Library Board

Critic reviews

"[a] beautifully presented cornucopia" (Rachel Redford, The Oldie)

Great Performance!

This was a nice collection of excerpts from great literature and poetry. The voice talent was superb. However, there was not even the slightest breath of a pause between one reading and the next. This technical issue was confusing and a great distraction.

Interesting collection but no breaks

Interesting, sometimes odd collection but barely a breath between selections makes it hard to follow

Great writing about a great subject.

short Snippets from some of the greatest authors to have lived. expose your family and yourself to some great Christmas stories from some of the best authors.

Wonderful Christmas stories and excerpts!

This is a wonderful Christmas story collection! I have already listened to it several times. AND BOTH readers are fabulous. I highly recommend it. It will really raise your Christmas spirits to new heights. I have found several other Christmas story collections on Audible, and plan to buy several of them.

Christmas from your Favorite Text

Well done and very enjoyable. People of tge classics will truly enjoy this. The narrators truly make these words cone alive.

True Brittish Theatrics!

Wonderful performances! I felt like I took a trip to England to attend a Christmas theater performance. It was so well done that the excepts made me want to listen to all the classics. The only reason I have it four stars over all was because the volume fluctuates dramatically between the male and female narrations (which required me to have to fairly adjust the sound levels up and down.)

Great voices terrible sound levels

As others have said; please rebalance the sound levels for the whole recording. Add a few seconds quiet between the excellently read performances. Once fixed reissue to all of us!!

Beautiful collection of "The Best of Christmas"

Excellent British narrators make this vast collection of Christmas stories and poems a pleasure to listen to and go back to each holiday season. I really enjoyed the stories read with the British emphasis on these English classics.

A Great Mix Of Christmas Themed Quotes

The readings were great and the selections of the Christmas quotes were spot on, I really enjoyed item while walking in the cold and snow.

Marvelous, with one very avoidable flaw

Would you listen to A Literary Christmas again? Why?

Yes, it's a cozy and thoroughly enjoyable recording, with two of England's finest actor voices.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Literary Christmas?

Simon Callow's reading of the passage describing the Christmas Eve ball in Fezziwig's warehouse absolutely brims with enthusiasm and perfectly brings to life all of Dickens' descriptive powers.

What does Juliet Stevenson and Simon Callow bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The right voice brings out all the humor or pathos or excitement that the author intended.

Any additional comments?

For some reason, there is NO pause between selections. Three seconds to allow the sound of the previous story to fade in your mind's ear, and anticipate the next story, would have earned this an overall 5 stars instead of 4.