It is always a challenge to write Christmas stories in the Regency. It’s a historical period where the holiday is defined as much by what they didn’t have as by what they did. Many of the trappings we consider traditional are actually Victorian. Without carols, cards, trees and Santa, a Regency Christmas looks more like a big house party. And that can end up looking like any other Regency house party, but with the addition of bad weather.
When I began studying the problems in the north of England during 1811, the task became even harder. The workers were in revolt. At one point there were more British troops there than were fighting Napoleon. Mill owners were hamstrung by embargoes that kept them from selling their cloth to countries allied with France. That included America, which had been a major source of income. There was an antiwar sentiment that is rarely mentioned in our largely patriotic stories.
The problems I was finding as I researched resonate today as much as they did then. There was a desperate need for compassion and understanding between labor and management.
And that thought led me to a story which was completely out of period, but the best primer anyone can hope for on the reflection, redemption and charity that can be found at the heart of the Christmas season.
I hope you enjoy it.