Christmas: A Biography
By Judith Flanders Picador, £14.99, hardback, 256 pages
Whether your reaction to the inevitable return of the Christmas season is starry-eyed excitement or weary resignation, this Yuletide history has something for everyone. From an exploration of what we really know about the festival’s early years to an insightful take on the permanence of nostalgia (Christmas has never, it would seem, been as good as it used to be), there’s plenty to enjoy. This isn’t merely a frothy tie-in book either, but a proper social history, featuring an interesting look at how ‘the most wonderful time of year’ has been reimagined and reinterpreted by generation after generation.