The Haunted Tea Cosy

Having finished one Georgette Heyer, I promptly started another (Death in the Stocks) and was merrily reading away. Then my husband came home from work with the mail. Among the Christmas cards and other goodies was Edward Gorey's The Haunted Tea Cosy, a prize from Bibliosue's Blogiversary Give-Away. Well, I couldn't just set it aside without looking through it--and I couldn't just look through it without reading it. It's a short little book, only about 70 pages or so, but it, like all of Gorey's work, is delightful.

This Gorey masterpiece gives us his take on the Christmas Carol story by Dickens. Edmund Gravel sits down for tea on Christmas Eve, cuts a slice of fruitcake, and is immediately visited by the Spectre of Christmas That Never Was, the Spectre of Christmas That Isn't, and the Spectre of Christmas That Never Will Be. Guided on his spectral journey by the Bahhum Bug, Edmund is taken through his village of Lower Spigot and shown Affecting Scenes, Distressing Scenes, and Heart-Rending Scenes. Filled with Gorey's spectacular drawings and his twisted and mysterious world-view, this was a nice little diversion before leaping back into my vintage mysteries. Four and a half stars out of five. And a heartfelt thank you to Bibliosue for the Give-Away goody!