THE THIRTEEN DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

Challenged by his love to be more romantic, a besotted young swain brings to life the traditional carol ""The Twelve Days of Christmas."" On Christmas Day, Francis Vere presents Annaple Kitson with a partridge in a pear tree, and each day after, until Twelfth Night, the gifts keep coming. They are predictable, but their presentation causes comic commotion. The family soon has builders hammering coops for the hens and partridges, plumbers creating decorative ponds for the geese, and farmers delivering bales of straw and grain. It's noisy, the neighbors complain, gossips crowd the street, and the mayor sends a note reminding Miss Kitson to apply for a license to sell dairy products. Even with all the excitement, Annaple remains resolute--until the thirteenth day, when she marries Francis in a grand wedding. Some readers will find Annaple demanding, crabby, and hard to please and wonder why Francis went to all the trouble. But devoted fans of ""The Twelve Days of Christmas"" will love every detail of the quaint customs--some authentic and some created for the story--the exasperated but loving Kitson family, and the good cheer of an old English Christmas.