There was little to celebrate in the Brontë household at Haworth Parsonage in the early 19th century. The girls’ childhood had been sacrificed on the altar of the Rev’d Brontës’ mistaken belief that true genius lay in the future of the spoiled and later wastrel son Bramwell, rather than with Charlotte, Emily and Anne who collectively were to become major forces in English literature.

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They were alive at a time when the Christmas industry as we know it today, was beginning to evolve, as seen through the eyes of such contemporary writers as Thackeray, with his often witty and astute observations and Charles Dickens with his undoubted social conscience and love for the season.

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This is contrasted with the writings of Washington Irving an American who fictionalised his travels through Yorkshire with his Christmas at Bracebridge Hall.

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Insulated as they may have been, with only occasional mention of the season in their writings, it will come as a surprise to many to learn that even Charlotte had some of her illustrations used in the burgeoning Christmas card market.

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This revision of what was originally published in the mid 1990s has been revised and adapted as we learn more through contemporary research.