Dear Subscriber,

Winter is definitely upon us!  Not so many weeks ago, I'd say "Brr, it's 50 degrees out there!"  Now I say "Wow, it's 50 degrees out there - how pleasant!"  And I  haven't been saying it very often...  But around the house, it's "starting to look a lot like Christmas" - the tree is up, the mantel is adorned with Christmas houses, and there's a general feel of coziness about the place. 

Which means, of course, that it's time for our holiday issue - which turns out to be not only all about Victorian Christmas but very much about Christmas as it was experienced by the Victorian child!  We have a lovely feature in this issue about "the children's Christmas in art", along with two articles on children's Christmas "calico balls" - apparently Christmas was the season for children's costume parties!  Plus, of course, articles on entertaining, cooking and decorating, Victorian-style.

My thanks to all of you who've visited my Christmas card collection.  To my amazement, my best-selling card seems to be the mice cooperating to snag a bit of holiday cheer in the form of some Christmas cheese!  There's still time to order cards, but if you do, I recommend doing it VERY soon, because Zazzle is NOT fast when it comes to shipping.  To see my collection (25 in all, featuring cats, dogs, mice, bears, Santas, angels and more), please visit http://www.victorianvoices.net/books/xmascards.shtml or go directly to my Zazzle store at https://www.zazzle.com/victorianvoices.

And now here's what we have for you in December:

• Merry Christmas in the Tenements (Century Magazine, 1898) A long but fascinating look at how the holidays are celebrated in New York's poorest neighborhoods, by people from a host of different countries and cultures.
• Our Yuletide Evergreens (The Girl's Own Paper, 1883) The lore and history of the various greens commonly used for holiday decorating.
• The Humour of Christmas (The Strand, 1902) A delightful selection of Christmas cartoons from magazines of the day.
• Christmas in the North (Demorest, 1873) A look at holiday celebrations in Scandinavia.
• Children's Fancy Dress for Christmas Parties (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1883) "Fancy costumes are particularly well adapted to little folks, a fact which of late years has come to be recognized, and at many juvenile parties character costumes are de rigeur."
• How to Entertain at Christmas (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1881) "The house must be cheerful, the ruling power animated. It is worth while to bestow some little trouble on the decoration of the rooms. Have plenty of shining holly, and laurel too, and don't omit the mistletoe..."
• Children's Calico Balls (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1879) More tips on costumes and customs for children's Christmas fancy-dress balls.
• The Children's Christmas (Sunday Strand, 1902) A delightful look at how Christmas was portrayed by Victorian black-and-white artists, including Louis Wain and his Christmas cats.
• Catering for Christmas Parties (Cassell's Family Magazine, 1880) Even in 1880, one party favorite was... deviled eggs!
• Chats About the Calendar (The Girl's Own Paper, 1883) A brief roundup of December lore...
• The Mistletoe (The Home Magazine, 1898) A bit of the natural history of this intriguing plant.
• Fiction: "A Glut in Turkeys" (The Strand, 1903) When their Christmas turkey is stolen, what is a poor family to do?
  

Visit http://www.victorianvoices.net/VT/issues/VT-1812.shtml to download  this issue!

Or download it directly from DropBox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gbfljvinsc6ylbz/VT-1812.pdf?dl=0

...AND SO IS VICTORIAN TIMES QUARTERLY #18!

The latest volume of Victorian Times Quarterly is now available on Amazon, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca.

Victorian Times Quarterly #18 includes the contents of the October, November and December 2018 issues of Victorian Times.  This issue brings you the conclusion of "Aunt Mehitabel's" visit to post-Civil War Washington, along with glimpses of such rarities as the sea serpent, some whimsical guesses about the future of fashion, curious foot gear of the ages, and a man who creates artwork from orange peels!  This, of course, also brings you our complete 2018 Christmas issue, which offers tips on entertaining and decorating, a look at holidays throughout the world, and a lovely special art feature depicting "the children's Christmas" as envisioned by the leading black-and-white artists and illustrators of the age.  (Plus, don't miss our lovely holiday fiction piece, "A Glut of Turkeys.")  This volume has loads of fantastic art!

To find out more and access the ordering links, please visit http://www.victorianvoices.net/VT/VTQ/VTQ18.shtml

CHRISTMAS IS COMING - ENJOY OUR NEW CHRISTMAS TREASURY!

We've done it again!  We love Christmas (and especially Victorian Christmas) so much that we've created a second Victorian Christmas Treasury (aptly titled A Victorian Christmas Treasury II).  Every page of this beautiful volume is a holiday treat, with an amazing collection of holiday articles and artwork never before anthologized.  Our new treasury takes you on a guided tour of Victorian holiday celebrations, from the poverty of the New York tenements to the children's costume balls in the British country home, from the blizzards of the American prairie to the blistering sun of the Australian colony.  Enjoy the Victorians' own visions of Christmas with holiday artwork by the top artists of the day (including some of Louis Wain's famous Christmas cats).  And of course, you'll find tips on decorating your home Victorian-style, tips on entertaining, and lots of mouthwatering recipes for Victorian holiday treats and suppers.  If you love Christmas (can you tell we do?), we're sure this volume will become a cherished part of your holiday traditions.  (And of course, don't miss our first Christmas collection, A Victorian Christmas Treasury.)

To find out more and access the ordering links, please visit http://www.victorianvoices.net/books/Christmas.shtml

Have a wonderful holiday season!

Your Intrepid Editor,
Moira Allen

editors@writing-world.com