Mr and Mrs Brown are keen to make it to Thompson Hall for a cosy family Christmas - the first they will be spending in England instead of France for several years. When Mr Brown is taken ill in Paris en route home, it seems their Christmas wishes may not be coming true. ‘Christmas at Thompson Hall’ is a festive short story full of humorous mishaps from the much-loved Victorian author, Anthony Trollope.

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882) was a Victorian writer and author of 47 novels. He also wrote an autobiography, short stories and plays, travel articles, reviews and lectures. A prolific writer, he made no secret of the fact that money was his motivation for writing - an admission which raised eyebrows among his literary contemporaries at the time. The amount of works Trollope authored are testament to his belief in hard work. His first successful novel was The Warden followed by its sequel, Barchester Towers. The Chronicles of Barsetshire are perhaps his most well-known series of novels, though many of his works have been adapted for TV and radio, starring many familiar faces such as Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander. Alongside his literary career, Trollope also worked for some time for the Post Office and is credited with the introduction of the iconic post box to Britain. A memorial to Anthony Trollope was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey in 1993.