Last Christmas

The perfect gift book, featuring the writing of Meryl Streep, Bill Bailey, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Caitlin Moran, Richard Ayoade, Emily Watson and others, to coincide with the upcoming movie Last Christmas, starring Emma Thompson, Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding.

When you think back to Christmases past, what (if anything) made it magical? Looking towards the future, what would your perfect Christmas be? What would you change? What should we all change?

This is a beautiful, funny and soulful collection of personal essays about the meaning of Christmas, written by a unique plethora of voices from the boulevards of Hollywood to the soup kitchens of Covent Garden.

Away from the John Lewis advert, the high street decorations and the candied orange in Heston Blumenthal's Christmas pudding, this gem of a book introduced and curated by Emma Thompson and Greg Wise celebrates the importance of kindness and generosity, acceptance and tolerance - and shows us that these values are not just for Christmas.

About the Authors

Greg Wise is an actor, producer and author. He has appeared in many British television works, as well as several feature films, such as The Crown and Sense and Sensibility. With his sister, Clare, he co-authored the critically acclaimed memoir Not That Kind of Love. He is married to Emma Thompson and they have two children.

Dame Emma Thompson is one of the UK's most acclaimed actresses, screenwriters and activists. She has won two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. She is the president of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a patron of the Refugee Council and the Elton John AIDS Foundation and an ambassador for ActionAid, and splits her time between London and Scotland with her husband, Greg Wise.