Quaintness Mingled with Revelry

Send us a text

00:00 Introduction
00:45 Dinner is served!
02:18 The Christmas meal
03:43 The people at the meal
04:44 Loaded with good cheer, conversation, and music
14:58 Supernatural monument
19:03 Author’s hopes in writing
19:50 Influence of Old Christmas
20:58 Criticism of emphasis on the past
22:35 Class conflict versus harmony and peace at Christmas
24:26 Future episodes
20:02 Sources
What was the meaning of the thacking sound?
Who said grace at the Christmas dinner?
What strange things was the deceased knight said to do at nightWhat does Irving say was his reason for writing Old Christmas?
Why Old Christmas important from a historical standpoint?
How did Irving change Christmas from SOLELY a religious holiday?
How is the world of the Squire’s England like today?
Sources for this episode include “The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon” by Washington Irving, Complete Fictional Works of Washington Irving by Washington Irving, Washington Irving: The Definitive Biography of America’s First Bestselling Author by Brian Jay Jones, The Literary Adventures of Washington Irving by Cheryl Harness, Original Knickerbocker: The Life of Washington Irving by Andrew Burstein, Edgar Allan Poe: A Critical Biography by Arthur Hobson Quinn, The Poe Log: A Documentary Life of Edgar Allan Poe by Dwight Thomas and David K. Jackson, and The Reason for the Darkness of the Night by John Tresch.

Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Poe.