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Twas the Night Before Christmas and Other Christmas Stories
Editedby Rosemary Gray
Here is a book no Christmas stocking should be without, a book that positively distils the spirit of the season. The title poem, familiar to children and adults the world over, introduces a collection of stories and verse with a Christmas theme, guaranteed to engage and amuse readers young and old.
Likely to provoke laughter and sometimes to bring a sentimental tear to the driest eye, this festive treasure trove is ideal for reading aloud or curling up with in a comfy corner. Scrooge himself would have found it difficult to resist distributing copies on Christmas morning!
Here is a book no Christmas stocking should be without, a book that positively distils the spirit of the season. The title poem, familiar to children and adults the world over, introduces a collection of stories and verse with a Christmas theme, guaranteed to engage and amuse readers young and old.
Likely to provoke laughter and sometimes to bring a sentimental tear to the driest eye, this festive treasure trove is ideal for reading aloud or curling up with in a comfy corner. Scrooge himself would have found it difficult to resist distributing copies on Christmas morning!
320 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2010
13 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Clement Clarke Moore
496 books638 followersClement Clarke Moore, (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863), is best known as the credited author of A Visit From St. Nicholas (more commonly known today as Twas the Night Before Christmas).
Clement C. Moore was more famous in his own day as a professor of Oriental and Greek literature at Columbia College (now Columbia University) and at General Theological Seminary, who compiled a two volume Hebrew dictionary. He was the only son of Benjamin Moore, a president of Columbia College and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and his wife Charity Clarke. Clement Clarke Moore was a graduate of Columbia College (1798), where he earned both his B.A. and his M.A.. He was made professor of Biblical learning in the General Theological Seminary in New York (1821), a post that he held until 1850. The ground on which the seminary now stands was his gift. [1] From 1840 to 1850, he was a board member of The New York Institution for the Blind at 34th Street and 9th Avenue (now The New York Institute for Special Education). He compiled a Hebrew and English Lexicon (1809), and published a collection of poems (1844). Upon his death in 1863 at his summer residence in Newport, Rhode Island, his funeral was held in Trinity Church, Newport, where he had owned a pew. Then his body was interred in the cemetery at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Hudson St., in New York City. On November 29, 1899, his body was reinterred in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in New York.
The Moore house, Chelsea, at the time a country estate, gave its name to the surrounding neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan, and Moore's land in the area is noted today by Clement Clark Moore Park, located at 10th Avenue and 22nd Street. The playground there opened November 22, 1968, and it was named in memory of Clement Clarke Moore by local law during the following year. The 1995 renovations to Clement Clarke Moore Park included a new perimeter fence, modular play equipment, safety surfacing, pavements and transplanted trees. This park is a popular playground area for local residents, who gather there the last Sunday of Advent for a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. [2]
Much of the neighborhood was once the property of Maj. Thomas Clarke, Clement's maternal grandfather and a retired British veteran of the French and Indian War. Clarke named his house for a hospital in London that served war veterans. 'Chelsea' was later inherited by Thomas Clarke's daughter, Charity Clarke Moore, and ultimately by grandson Clement and his family. Clement Clarke Moore's wife, Catharine Elizabeth Taylor, was of English and Dutch descent being a direct descendant of the Van Cortlandt family, once the major landholders in the lower Hudson Valley of New York.
As a girl, Moore's mother, Charity Clarke, wrote letters to her English cousins that are preserved at Columbia University and show her disdain for the policies of the English Monarchy and her growing sense of patriotism in pre-revolutionary days.
The Moore children have several living descendants among them members of the Ogden family. In 1855, one of Clement's daughters, Mary C. Moore Ogden painted 'illuminations' to go with her father's celebrated verse. A book with her paintings as illustrations is A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas the Night Before Christmas). Copyright 1995 by International Resourcing Services, Inc., 60 Revere Drive, Suite 725, Northbrook, Illinois, 60062.
Clement C. Moore was more famous in his own day as a professor of Oriental and Greek literature at Columbia College (now Columbia University) and at General Theological Seminary, who compiled a two volume Hebrew dictionary. He was the only son of Benjamin Moore, a president of Columbia College and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, and his wife Charity Clarke. Clement Clarke Moore was a graduate of Columbia College (1798), where he earned both his B.A. and his M.A.. He was made professor of Biblical learning in the General Theological Seminary in New York (1821), a post that he held until 1850. The ground on which the seminary now stands was his gift. [1] From 1840 to 1850, he was a board member of The New York Institution for the Blind at 34th Street and 9th Avenue (now The New York Institute for Special Education). He compiled a Hebrew and English Lexicon (1809), and published a collection of poems (1844). Upon his death in 1863 at his summer residence in Newport, Rhode Island, his funeral was held in Trinity Church, Newport, where he had owned a pew. Then his body was interred in the cemetery at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Hudson St., in New York City. On November 29, 1899, his body was reinterred in Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in New York.
The Moore house, Chelsea, at the time a country estate, gave its name to the surrounding neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan, and Moore's land in the area is noted today by Clement Clark Moore Park, located at 10th Avenue and 22nd Street. The playground there opened November 22, 1968, and it was named in memory of Clement Clarke Moore by local law during the following year. The 1995 renovations to Clement Clarke Moore Park included a new perimeter fence, modular play equipment, safety surfacing, pavements and transplanted trees. This park is a popular playground area for local residents, who gather there the last Sunday of Advent for a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas. [2]
Much of the neighborhood was once the property of Maj. Thomas Clarke, Clement's maternal grandfather and a retired British veteran of the French and Indian War. Clarke named his house for a hospital in London that served war veterans. 'Chelsea' was later inherited by Thomas Clarke's daughter, Charity Clarke Moore, and ultimately by grandson Clement and his family. Clement Clarke Moore's wife, Catharine Elizabeth Taylor, was of English and Dutch descent being a direct descendant of the Van Cortlandt family, once the major landholders in the lower Hudson Valley of New York.
As a girl, Moore's mother, Charity Clarke, wrote letters to her English cousins that are preserved at Columbia University and show her disdain for the policies of the English Monarchy and her growing sense of patriotism in pre-revolutionary days.
The Moore children have several living descendants among them members of the Ogden family. In 1855, one of Clement's daughters, Mary C. Moore Ogden painted 'illuminations' to go with her father's celebrated verse. A book with her paintings as illustrations is A Visit from St. Nicholas (Twas the Night Before Christmas). Copyright 1995 by International Resourcing Services, Inc., 60 Revere Drive, Suite 725, Northbrook, Illinois, 60062.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 18, 2013
What a gem! This book is a little treasure box of Christmas stories, and it has set me in the perfect mood for Christmas. Many of these heartwarming tales were quite new for me, while their authors were well-known favorites. In fact, I almost squealed with joy when I found out that Lucy Maud Montgomery and Louisa May Alcott had written a few Christmas tales.
From Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to the title poem by Clement Clarke Moore and the short stories by Alcott and Montgomery, this little book consists of the best Christmas stories and poems ever written. I'm so happy to own it, and I just know that I will treasure it for many Christmases to come.
From Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" to the title poem by Clement Clarke Moore and the short stories by Alcott and Montgomery, this little book consists of the best Christmas stories and poems ever written. I'm so happy to own it, and I just know that I will treasure it for many Christmases to come.
December 26, 2019
A beautiful treasure chest of Christmas stories that will be read for many Christmases to come. Longer review: https://sisterdelightbookcaffe.blogsp...
December 14, 2019
3 stars.
Some I enjoyed. Most of them near the beginning of the book. Others I didn't like so much so I just DNF'ed them. It was mostly the ones written from the children's point of view that I liked. Mainly because they had that old fashioned feel to them. The adult ones didn't interest me.
Some I enjoyed. Most of them near the beginning of the book. Others I didn't like so much so I just DNF'ed them. It was mostly the ones written from the children's point of view that I liked. Mainly because they had that old fashioned feel to them. The adult ones didn't interest me.
December 30, 2024
Sommige verhalen zijn mierzoet, sommige verrassend duister (ik ga die getraumatiseerde kerstboom nooit meer vergeten). Maar er zitten ook zeker wat leuke verhalen tussen. De versie van A Christmas Carol is verkort, dus lees daarvan vooral de volledige versie ipv deze!
November 26, 2018
This book was a gift from my beloved friend Justina. I kept it for almost two years waiting for the perfect time. Today, I finish this marvelous book with a big smile on my face.
There are 32 different stories related with Christmas, gentleness, joyfulness and good-will. Some of the stories weren't very amusing, however most of them I really enjoyed. There were even some I cried. Yeah, I'm talking about The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen or Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman.
Anyway, I truly believe everyone will find their favorite story and have a wonderful time reading this book.
There are 32 different stories related with Christmas, gentleness, joyfulness and good-will. Some of the stories weren't very amusing, however most of them I really enjoyed. There were even some I cried. Yeah, I'm talking about The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen or Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman.
Anyway, I truly believe everyone will find their favorite story and have a wonderful time reading this book.
December 20, 2019
Kind of mixed feelings about this, from the cover and blurb it seems the target audience it is aimed at is children (although admittedly it does say on the back the stories will be enjoyed by children AND adults) but I found at times the stories were quite heavy and deep in topic matter and writing style (of course as they were classical authors) and though some were great children's stories I don't think all were easy enough to understand or were appropriate for younger readers as I was reading this aloud slowly to two boys of differing ages.
From a personal standpoint some of the stories even to me were quite stuffy and even boring.
My highlights of the collection was 'Twas the night before Christmas, A Christmas Carol (Huge Dickens fan), The fir tree, Christmas Day in the workhouse and The gift of the magi.
Overall as with any compendium of tales some were a definite hit and some a miss.
From a personal standpoint some of the stories even to me were quite stuffy and even boring.
My highlights of the collection was 'Twas the night before Christmas, A Christmas Carol (Huge Dickens fan), The fir tree, Christmas Day in the workhouse and The gift of the magi.
Overall as with any compendium of tales some were a definite hit and some a miss.
February 11, 2017
This book is not by Moore, although it includes the title poem by him. It is collected and edited by the prolific Rosemary Gray.
A collection of 32 stories and poems about Christmases sad, happy and happy-after-tribulation. Touching, tough, and humorous, some are somewhat saccharine, but overall a jolly good Christmas read when in the mood.
Authors include Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, O. Henry.
A collection of 32 stories and poems about Christmases sad, happy and happy-after-tribulation. Touching, tough, and humorous, some are somewhat saccharine, but overall a jolly good Christmas read when in the mood.
Authors include Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, O. Henry.
December 28, 2012
I had the honor of reading this to twins (twice!) on Christmas Eve. Oh so wonderful.
December 18, 2021
🎄All we want for Christmas is a reading marathon.
This book positively distills the spirit of the season and gets you into Christmas mood.
“And it all comes, she added softly, of that one unselfish thought, of that one small act of self-denial for others”
—“The tell-tale tile” by Olive Thorne Miller
This book positively distills the spirit of the season and gets you into Christmas mood.
“And it all comes, she added softly, of that one unselfish thought, of that one small act of self-denial for others”
—“The tell-tale tile” by Olive Thorne Miller
December 25, 2022
A Christmas classic.
December 11, 2023
I feel like I just read this... oh, I did. XD Tis the season I guess. Merry Christmas to all! And Happy Holidays too! ^.^
June 16, 2017
Honestly, how to write a comprehensive review of a book with this many different stories? Some I loved, some I didn't. I like Christmas stories though and I plan on rereading it some time soon.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews