Negus

1901 edition of A Christmas Carol

This winter I’ve bought 2 editions of A Christmas Carol.  The first is from 1901, a really lovely edition, which, while not illustrated, has beautiful floral silhouettes on each page.  But, I found as I was reading it, many scenes are shortened, or missing altogether.  I’m not sure why this version was so truncated, but when I found another edition from 1961 for $2, I bought it, as it appeared to be complete.

 

One thing that wasn’t missing from the earlier edition was the party scene from when Ebenezer Scrooge was apprenticed to Old Mr. Fezziwig.  It’s a great party, and it sounds like one I’d have liked to have attended.  “There were more dances, and there were forfeits, and more dances, and there was cake, and there was negus, and there was a great piece of cold roast, and there was a great piece of cold boiled, and there were mince pies and plenty of beer.”  I had to stop reading right there to do some research.

This massive book, from 1915, is 4 and a half inches thick!

I’ve heard of negus, but have to admit that I didn’t know exactly what it was, other than an alcoholic punch of some sort.  Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, of course, had the answer! It turns out it’s a hot drink made with Port wine, lemon, spice, sugar and water, and it’s very tasty!

 

Mrs. Beeton’s exact recipe – number 3600 in her nearly 2000 page book – is as follows:

Negus

 

Mr and Mrs Fezziwig at their party. 1961.

Ingredients:  1/2 a pint of port wine, 1/2 a pint of boiling water, 2 or 3 thin slices of lemon, sugar and nutmeg to taste.

 

Method:  Heat the wine in a stew pan, but do not allow it to boil.  Put the slices of lemon, a pinch of nutmeg, and 4 or 5 lumps of sugar into a jug, pour in the boiling water, stir gently until the sugar is dissolved, then add the hot wine and serve at once.

The only thing missing from my supplies was the fresh lemons, so I had to wait until the next day to make a pot of negus.  It was worth the wait, but once I had the lemons, the wait wasn’t long.  This is a very simple drink to make.  It’s a little sweet, but it’s not too sweet, since you sweeten to taste, and has the heady aroma of hot spiced wine.  I drank it while wrapping gifts and watching Netflix, and it was a good evening.

This is the kind of recipe you could easily tweak to suit your ingredients and preferences.  I suspect we’ll be making more, throughout the holiday season.  I’m pondering making another pot – which made exactly the two cupfuls pictured here – tonight.  If there was a way to keep it hot for him, I’m sure even Santa would like a glass on his rounds.

And, as tonight is Christmas Eve, I’d like to wish all my readers the merriest of holidays, whatever you celebrate!  Thank you for reading my posts, and all the best to you and yours in the coming year.

Cover of the 1961 A Christmas Carol

My 1901 edition of A Christmas Carol was edited and published by H. M. Caldwell, Co.

My 1961 edition was illustrated by Ronald Searle, and published by Perpetua Books.