"Christmas ought to be brought up to date," Maria said. "It ought to have gangsters, and aeroplanes and a lot of automatic pistols." -- John Masefield, 
 The Box Of Delights 
 Greenglass House has smugglers instead of gangsters, and smugglers' ships instead of aeroplanes, but it evokes the same sort of Christmas magic that Masefield's Box of Delights does. It's not so much bringing Christmas up to date, though, as it is uncovering an almost forgotten genre of classic Christmas fantasy and gently nudging it in an up to date direction. I was put in mind of Masefield, but Milford namechecks Dickens, specifically drawing parallels with 
 The Holly-Tree Inn 
 .