A superbly festive short story. Part of the thrilling Cornelius Quaint Chronicles.It is Christmas Eve and Cornelius Quaint arrives at a tavern in a most contemptible part of Victorian London. His mission - to procure a Christmas feast for his travelling circus, armed with nothing but a penny, his Eskimo valet Butter, and his own dazzlingly brilliant mind. Can Quaint pull off his con, or will he and Butter find themselves strung up by their gizzards before the night is through?For readers of The Equivoque Principle and The Eleventh Plague, The Quaint Christmas sees the welcome return of dashing magician and part-time sleuth, Cornelius Quaint. For those yet to be acquainted, prepare to discover a fantastic adventure series inspired by the penny dreadfuls and newspaper serials of the Victorian age.