The National Trust has republished a charming little book, Treasure on Earth, by Phyllis Elinor Sandeman, an account, mostly by her aunt, who was a child in the very early 20th century, of the delights of Christmas at the stately home in Cheshire: white muslin dresses, amateur theatricals, Tudor panelling, the mysteries of below-stairs, and “Christians, awake!” drifting up from the church choir singing “in the still air” of the courtyard. It is illustrated with woodcuts like the one above, and includes Phyllis’s own memories of Lyme some decades later (£9.99 (£9); 978-1-911358-04-6)