Cats, babies and sausages – what more could you want from a Christmas tale?

“My dear, I wish for turkey and sausages. It may be a weakness, but I own I am partial to sausages.” So says Mr Jenkins, arch-nemesis of fellow lodger Mr Hodgson, at the start of Elizabeth Gaskell’s short story of Christmas quarrels, written in 1848.

This seasonal short story, with a wonderfully-evocative domestic setting, has all the ingredients (including the sausages!) of a satisfying seasonal tale: two feuding families, a Christmas dinner in peril, and a suitably salutary finale.

Join Dr Diane Duffy for a lively discussion about this fine festive story, and start December with some Victorian Christmas spirit.