Sarah Clegg & Ronald Hutton: The Dead of Winter

In The Dead of Winter, Sarah Clegg – author of the HWA Crown Award-shortlisted Woman’s Lore - looks behind the tinsel and the turkey to explore the darker traditions of the Christmas season. At wassails, hoodenings and winter gatherings, attended by ghastly, grinning horses, snatching monsters and mysterious visitors, we discover how these customs and rituals originated and how they changed through the centuries, and ask ourselves: if we can't keep the darkness entirely at bay, might it be fun to let a little in?

She was in conversation with Ronald Hutton, historian, folklorist and professor of history at Bristol University.