title: A Merry Christmas: And Other Christmas Stories (Penguin Christmas Classics)
author:  Louisa May Alcott 
description: &#8220;For lit nerds and loved ones who are notoriously hard to shop for, you can&#8217;t go wrong with these festively bound classics. . . . Their size makes them perfectly stocking-stuffable.&#8221; &#8212;<b><i>Entertainment Weekly, </i>&#8220;The Must List&#8221;</b><br>&#160;<br>&#8220;Leave it to the folks at Penguin&#8212;who gave us Gothed-out editions of horror classics for Halloween&#8212;to package these . . . slim Yuletide-themed volumes.&#8221; &#8212;<b><i>Newsday, </i>&#8220;Best Books to Give as Holiday Gifts&#8221;</b><br>&#160;<br>&#8220;Remember how Christmas was celebrated before Black Friday with these 19th-century authors, in small uniform volumes wrapped in pretty jackets.&#8221; &#8212;<b><i>USA Today, </i>&#8220;Holiday Gift Books So Pretty, No Need to Wrap&#8221;</b><br>&#160;<br>&#8220;Beautifully designed.&#8221; &#8212;<b><i>The Washington Post</i></b>
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  A LITTLE CHRISTMAS
  
  Gail Ranstrom
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  Dear Reader,
  
  When I was first invited to contribute to this anthology, I was thrilled. Then
  I realized I would have to come up with a story. To set the mood, I began to
  hum Christmas carols, and soon the one that caught my imagination was “We Need
  A Little Christmas” by Jerry Herman. Though the song was more modern than my
  story, the lyrics inspired Sophie’s yearning for just “A Little Christmas.”
  
  Many, many happy returns!
  
  Gail
  
  With Love, for Sarah and Lendie,  
  May you always make merry!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Chapter One
  
  Near Greystoke, Cumberland  
  December 17, 1818
  
  “The vultures are gathering, my lord.” The butler, a stiff elderly man with a
  fine mane of silver-gray hair, said and handed him a toddy.
  
  “Have they all arrived, then, Potter?” Viscount Sebastian Selwick stood in the
  library of Windsong Hall, warming his hands by the fire. He could not seem to
  chafe the chill from his bones, which was only partly caused by the cool