"New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini celebrates Christmas, past and present, with a wondrous novel inspired by the classic poem "Christmas Bells," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I heard the bells on Christmas Day/ Their old familiar carols play/ And wild and sweet/ The words repeat/ Of peace on earth, good-will to men! In 1860, the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family celebrated Christmas at their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Though the country's political unrest weighed on Longfellow's mind, the delights of the season prevailed. In present-day Boston, music teacher Sophia is stunned to learn that her music program has been sacrificed to budget cuts. At the church where she volunteers as music director, Sophia tries to forget her cares as she rehearses the children's choir for a Christmas Eve concert. Sophia has chosen a carol set to an 1863 poem by Longefellow, moved by the glorious words he penned one Christmas Day long ago, even as he suffered great loss,.,Provided by publisher.