The Mistletoe Bough (Annotated)

In "The Mistletoe Bough," Anthony Trollope transforms the conventions of the Christmas tale into a subtle study of courtship, domestic expectation, and the social theater of the holiday season. The story draws upon the sentimental and mildly Gothic associations of its title, yet Trollope's characteristic realism steadily redirects attention from supernatural sensation toward the motives, misunders...