The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories

From Hans Christian Andersen to Angela Carter

About the Book

The ultimate festive anthology of the best Christmas stories of all time, selected from around the world

A Penguin Classics Hardcover

This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space.

Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
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Praise for The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories

“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)
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Excerpt

The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories

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

A Penguin Classics Hardcover Series

The Lives of the Caesars
Metamorphoses
The Penguin Book of Christmas Stories
The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories
The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
The Prophet
The Prince
Letters to a Young Poet
Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
The Beautiful and Damned
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About the Author

Coralie Bickford-Smith
Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award-winning designer at Penguin Books, where she has created several highly acclaimed series designs. She studied typography at Reading University and lives in London. More by Coralie Bickford-Smith
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About the Author

Jessica Harrison
Jessica Harrison (editor) is the editorial director of Penguin Classics UK. More by Jessica Harrison
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