On Hosting Your Regency-Era Christmas Party: A Companion to Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Book excerpt: This introduction to the Regency-era Christmas offers a few helpful tips for celebrating your holiday like Jane Austen! The latest installment in Stephanie Barron’s richly historical Jane Austen mystery series takes place over the twelve days of Christmas, a Regency-era tradition unlike the holiday we celebrate today. In the pages of this free companion guide to the novel, you’ll find authentic ways to celebrate your own Georgian Christmas—from decorations to recipes to parlor games—for full immersion into the world of our heroine. About Jane Austen and the Twelve Days of Christmas: On Christmas Eve of 1814, we find the Regency era’s most beloved author on holiday at the Vyne, the gorgeous estate of the prominent Chute household, with family and friends. As they prepare for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, the guests are all in a celebratory mood—until one of the Yuletide revelers dies in a riding accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, can Jane discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?