Anthony Trollope 
Christmas at Thompson Hall 

In Anthony Trollope’s ‘Christmas at Thompson Hall’, a British matron is intent on traveling to her ancestral home for Christmas Eve in spite of her husband’s sore throat. In an attempt to alleviate his symptoms she raids the hotel pantry to make a mustard-poultice to apply to his throat. When she gets lost on the way back to her room she makes a terrible mistake that will put a British gentleman’s sense of charity to the test. This timeless holiday classic is a hilarious description of Victorian mores in the context of the holiday season.