I must have been truly good, this year – because Saint Lucia, the gift-bringer, has outdone herself.

Together with the prettiest Christmas mug ever, an adorable velveteen elephant, a box of twelve old glass ornaments for the tree, and a sinful plate of candy, she brought me books & movies.

First of all, D. K. Broster‘s Jacobite Trilogy, already stashed away in view of my Three Day Christmas Reading Spree. And because I have a soft spot for Jacobites – thanks to Stevenson’s Alan Breck Stewart – I can’t wait. Saint Lucia seems determined to make me discover a vintage historical novelist each year. It was Rosemary Sutcliffe last year, and now Broster…

Then Alessandro Barbero‘s Le Ateniesi, that is The Athenians. Barbero is a historian and writer – both of essays and novels. I love his works, and I’ve been wanting to read his foray in ancient Greece… The story is about the hardship of womanhood in classical Athens – but, as the title suggests, theatre makes its appearance, complete with bickering playwrights.

And then there is a DVD called Lost & Found, a collection of silent films that were presumed lost, and then found in the New Zealand film archives… Amongst them is John Ford’s Upstream – which I’ll be covering for Movies Silently’s Backstage Blogathon in January – a tale of theatre folks I’ve been wanting to see for ages.

Didn’t I tell you I must have been a prodigiously good girl? Picture me happy, nibbling candy and contemplating my Saint Lucia treasure trove, waiting for a free day or two to delve in.