The Night Before Christmas

<b>One of six beloved Christmas classics in collectible hardcover editions</b><br> <br>Written in 1831 by the father of Russian literature, this uproarious tale tells of the blacksmith Vakula’s battle with the devil, who has stolen the moon and hidden it in his pocket, allowing him to wreak havoc on the village of Dikanka. Both the devil and Vakula are in love with Oksana, the most beautiful girl in Dikanka. Vakula is determined to win her over; the devil, equally determined, unleashes a snowstorm to thwart Vakula’s efforts. Zany and mischievous, and drawing inspiration from the folk tales of Gogol’s far-flung village in Ukraine, <i>The Night Before Christmas</i> is the basis for many movie and opera adaptations, and is still read aloud to children on Christmas Eve in Ukraine and Russia.<br> <br><b>Penguin Christmas Classics</b><br> <br>Give the gift of literature this Christmas.<br> <br>Penguin Christmas Classics honor the power of literature to keep on giving through the ages. The six volumes in the series are not only our most beloved Christmas tales, they also have given us much of what we love about the holiday itself. <i>A Christmas Carol</i> revived in Victorian England such Christmas hallmarks as the Christmas tree, holiday cards, and caroling. The Yuletide yarns of Anthony Trollope popularized throughout the British Empire and around the world the trappings of Christmas in London. <i>The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus </i>created the origin story for the presiding spirit of Christmas as we know it. The holiday tales of Louisa May Alcott shaped the ideal of an American Christmas. <i>The Night Before Christmas</i> brought forth some of our earliest Christmas traditions as passed down through folk tales. And <i>The Nutcracker</i> inspired the most famous ballet in history, one seen by millions in the twilight of every year.<br> <br>Beautifully designed hardcovers—with foil-stamped jackets, decorative endpapers, and nameplates for personalization—in a small trim size that makes them perfect stocking stuffers, Penguin Christmas Classics embody the spirit of giving that is at the heart of our most time-honored stories about the holiday.<br> <br>Collect all six Penguin Christmas Classics:<br> <br><i>A Christmas Carol</i> by Charles Dickens<br><i>Christmas at Thompson Hall: And Other Christmas Stories</i> by Anthony Trollope<br><i>The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus </i>by L. Frank Baum<br><i>A Merry Christmas: And Other Christmas Stories</i> by Louisa May Alcott<br><i>The Night Before Christmas</i> by Nikolai Gogol<br><i>The Nutcracker</i> by E. T. A. Hoffmann<br><br>For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. <p><b>Gogol's classic, uproarious folktale, presented in a beautiful hardcover edition perfect for giving as a gift.</b><br><br>Written in 1831, this dark tale relates the adventures of Vakula, the blacksmith, in his fight against the devil, who has stolen the moon above the village of Dikanka and is wreaking havoc on its inhabitants, all to win the love of the most beautiful girl in town. The basis for many film and opera adaptations, and still a story traditionally read aloud to children on Christmas Eve in Ukraine and Russia, <i>The Night Before Christmas</i> is the best holiday tale by the man whom Vladimir Nabokov called 'the greatest writer Russia has yet produced'.<br><br>Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852) was the son of a Ukrainian gentleman farmer. He attended a variety of boarding schools, where he proved an indifferent student but was admired for his theatrical abilities. In 1828 he moved to St. Petersburg and began to publish stories, and by the mid-1830s he had established himself in the literary world and been warmly praised by Pushkin. In 1836, his play <i>The Inspector-General</i> was attacked as immoral, and he left Russia, remaining abroad for most of the next dozen years. During that time he wrote two of his best-known stories, 'The Nose' and 'The Overcoat,' and in 1842 he published the first section of his masterpiece <i>Dead Souls</i>. Gogol became increasingly religious as the years passed, and in 1847 he became the disciple of an Orthodox priest who influenced him to burn the second part of <i>Dead Souls</i> and then abandon writing altogether. After undertaking an extreme fast, he died at the age of forty-two.</p>