Austen Age Christmas Book: Update

My time-travelling colleague, Dr. Jarrett, has requested that she might have a word with my readers; I now hand over, temporarily, to her.

Just a quick update on the Austen Age Christmastide booklet I'm preparing to accompany the talk (as course materials) - or replace (along with podcast etc.), as digital resources - on late Georgian and Regency Christmastide, to be given at the end of the year (and for some, in place of the talk that I was intending to run last December).
I've been working as hard as can be on this monograph. But despite putting in plenty of late nights and early mornings to try and pull it off in time, various problems have got (and continue to get) in the way. I'd have finished by the proposed 2 February, had it not been for a combination of illness (in addition to the usual time-consuming disabilities) and computer problems (more of the same: unfortunately a new machine is unfeasible at present).

I can only apologise for the delays, and will surely finish within the next fortnight, providing that tomorrow's ordeal of a root-filling of a rather wobly abscessed tooth (TMI?!) goes to plan, and I have no more serious PC problems.[1]

I am hopeful that readers will find the wait worthwhile. 

It's now likely to be nearly (or possibly over) 300 pages long, with plentiful illustrations, numerous extracts from period poems and prose, newspaper reports, and a good few recipes, and will have quite a bit to say about seasonal customs and amusements in Derbyshire in the late 1700s and early 1800s. I shall also where possible set the record straight regarding some of the myths - repetition of beliefs about past traditions that specialist research shows to be untenable - that have arisen surrounding rituals and practices at this time of year, and that most articles and books on Christmas churn out uncritically, as unquestionable truths.

There have been benefits to the wait - not least the generous assistance of a transcriber, which has enabled inclusion of entire letters and articles from the local press, and other publications from the time; which enrich the flavours of the past. I've also been able to include more detailed information (derived from research undertaken while awaiting restoration of my PC's hard drive) - which allow greater consideration of the evidence, through deeper analyses; and incorporated a greater number of illustrations to enliven the imagination.

I shall post information here, and in the other usual places, as and when I'm closer to completion. 

Notes
[1] If interested in what PC not to buy next (IMHO): I have a Dell Inspiron 7000 ser. laptop that crashes after every Windows update (and other times), telling me that I no longer have a hard drive. Fortunately, a start-up disc (I'm so glad that I prepared one of these, just in case) usually gets it going again (after a bit of fiddling about with resetting things as I like them); unfortunately, this often loses / corrupts files / large portions of documents I'm working on, that I must then try to re-write from what I'm left with.