Old Christmas

By: Washington Irving

Narrated by: Phil Paonessa

Warm and delightfully festive, this charming and long forgotten holiday classic was inspired, in part, by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol and other celebrations of old-time Yule. Splendid suppers, rural churches, cheerful dances, and hearty spirits imbue this short novel with the magic of the season.

Public Domain (P)2018 Dreamscape Media, LLC

A classic tale- well read

Washington Irving is my favorite early American author. Like so much of his work, he writes in the first person, in this instance sharing how he experienced a traditional Christmas in a stately English manor house named Bracebridge Hall. His ability to be descriptive without being overbearing, is a rare feat. This volume "Old Christmas," is wonderfully read by Phil Paonessa. Although partial to Irving I recommend this book to fans of Christmas, Washington Irving and the early custom and traditions of early English Christmas celebrations.

Ok..If You Like Stories of Christmas Past

Not as captivating as Dickens's A Christmas Carol, but Old Christmas is serviceable, if you are looking for a way to ease into a deep sleep.

A series of images made dull by the reader

Ugh.

Dull.

Daft.

Disappointing.

Drudgery.

Disastrous.

A Dickens derivative (seriously… there’s no storyline, just archetypal imagery of merrymaking).

Worst narrator I’ve heard to date (At times, he could’ve been listing off names in a telephone book— it was THAT bad)

Near the end, I did something I’d never done all year: I changed the read speed to 1.75x speed.

Would not read again.