JOHN JULIUS NORWICH has compiled an annual anthology, “A Christmas Cracker”, since 1970. His new book, An English Christmas (John Murray, £14.99 (£13.50); 978-1-473-66592-7) is entirely about the festival: from Pepys, Hardy, and George Orwell, to Jane Austen, Edith Nesbit, Dylan Thomas, and even the juvenile Princess Margaret.