A storm had claimed her apartment and now Holly Garrett was without a home for the holidays. But just when she saw her plans for Christmas crumbling, a miracle came her way. The handsome firefighter who'd saved her and her cat--and who'd injured himself in the rescue--was now asking her for help. And he was inviting her to live with him. Sure, she could cook and clean for him while he recuperated, but was that really all he wanted? Jordan Haynes couldn't let Holly be alone for Christmas--not when she brought out his every protective instinct. No, he could play the needy patient as well as anyone...and just maybe he could convince her to keep him company through the holidays--if not longer.

To help stoke the Christmas spirit and provide a respite from the annual blizzard of commercialism and family obligations, these twenty tales offer a heartwarming and enlightening look at Christmas from the perspective of some of America's most gifted and well-loved writers of the early twentieth century and before. Some celebrate traditional Yuletide sentiments while others present surprising twists on the Christmas theme or portray alluring characters involved in unexpected circumstances. Many take place in America, but some are set on foreign soil, such as in Italy and the Arctic. A wide range of social situations is represented (i.e., not all are about New York socialites discovering the true meaning of Christmas), and not every one has a conventional happy ending, but all offer compelling and original insights into the human condition within the context of Christmas. There are well-known tales of love and sacrifice such as O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" but also more obscure stories from other celebrated but perhaps less-well-known authors. Writers represented include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jack London, Frank Stockton, Mary Agnes Tincker, Robert Grant, Edward Eggleston, Sarah Orne Jewett, Bret Harte, and many others. This compact collection of Christmas literary gems is a perfect gift and will be a treasure for years to come.

If the ancient kingdom of Sumer was the due of the serpent or bull hero who defeated the old serpent or bull and had access to the Divine Mother we can understand why her love appears to be a dangerous boon in later ages. For year by year the chosen of Ishtar has to encounter a foe of his own blood and one of the two "bulls" is dispatched to the country without return. -from "The Divine King" Thoroughly fascinating and totally engrossing, this 1930 work is an exploration of myth and magic in ancient cultures and how they tapped into the most elemental of human experiences-sex, death, tribalism, and war-to lay the foundations of modern religion, contemporary politics, and even the tradition of scientific inquiry. Armchair anthropologists, readers of comparative mythology, and anyone interested in the fundamental basis of the human subconscious will find this book extraordinarily enlightening. Hungarian anthropologist GZA RHEIM (1891-1953) was the first professor of anthropology at the University of Budapest, a position he held from 1919 to 1938, when he fled to the United States to escape the unrest of Europe just prior to World War II. He is also the author of The Riddle of the Sphinx (1934), The Origin and Function of Culture (1943), The Eternal Ones of the Dream (1945), and The Gates of the Dream (1952).

Containing original essays; historical narratives, biographical memoirs, sketches of society, topographical descriptions, novels and tales, anecdotes, select extracts from new and expensive works, the spirit of the public journals, discoveries in the arts and sciences, useful domestic hints, etc. etc. etc.

A woman running from her past... Katherine Flemming gratefully accepts an invitation to spend Christmas at a new friend’s country estate, allowing her to escape London with her secrets still intact. Her past has caught up with her, and she must leave everything behind to start over. Again. A man unwilling to face the future... Cole Dumont takes one day at a time, spending his days seeing to the needs of his tenants but never his own. Unable to bear the idea of enduring another Christmas alone, he gratefully accepts an invitation from a neighboring estate with the fleeting hope of surviving a holiday filled with too many memories. A stolen moment under the kissing bough... Well aware of the trouble chasing her, Katherine avoids forming connections with others but something about the quiet baron tugs at her. Cole’s guilt convinces him that he doesn’t deserve happiness, yet the woman he kisses beneath the mistletoe makes him wonder if fate has something else in store. Can one kiss and the magic of Christmas unite two lonely souls?

It is Christmas Eve and, for the toys in Mr Blossom's shop, it is their last chance to be sold. Holly, a small doll dressed especially for Christmas, wishes hard for her own special child. But the day ends and Holly is left in the window. On Christmas morning a little lost orphan girl finds herself outside the toyshop. Ivy has never had a doll to love, but when she sees Holly, she knows at once that this doll is meant specially for her. But Ivy has no money, and the shop is closed . . . The Story of Holly and Ivy is a Christmas classic by Rumer Godden, beautifully illustrated by Christian Birmingham.

Includes music (mostly songs with piano accompaniment).