Christmas began with a good but harassed woman giving birth in difficult domestic circumstances. Somewhere between then and now the circumstances have changed, but for women today Christmas is still a time of joys garnered against the odds. We have moved on from stables and mangers to supermarkets and microwaves, and palm fronds, shepherds and lambs have given way to a fat red-suited man, a spangled conifer and well-stuffed stockings.

In this anthology reflecting the experiences of more than fifty women at Christmas, Jenny Eclair rubs shoulders with Agatha Christie, Laurie Graham, Nancy Mitford, Sue Townsend, Stella Gibbons, Mrs Beeton, Clare Boylan and many others.

Curl up with a tantalizing volume that gives full reign to the seditious humour, peculiar discomforts and exquisite social tortures of the season.