BBC Radio 4 Extra: Xmas w/the Detectives.

Thomas Hardy, NYPL

This week, BBC Radio 4 Extra features four tales read by Tom Conti that take place during the Christmas season: Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Blue Carbuncle," Thomas Hardy's whodunit "The Thieves Who Couldn't Stop Sneezing," Dorothy L. Sayers's "The Necklace of Pearls," and G. K. Chesterton's "The Flying Stars." Go here for the schedule or to listen; episodes usually may be heard online up to a week after broadcast.

(And here is Anthony Gardner on the intriguing stories behind Hardy's Christmas cards)

Thomas Hardy's holiday cards.

Thomas Hardy, 1923.
NYPL

Anthony Gardner in the Royal Society of Literature Review discusses the stories behind the holiday cards sent out by author Thomas Hardy.