In 1808 the young Edinburgh Advocate Walter Scott wrote Marmion, his second major work. His friends were astonished: they had no idea their funny, fogeyish friend could write like this. It was so rich and sparkling, evocative and nostalgic. Scott was creating whole new cultures, and in this quotation he conjures up the perfect Christmas. He was the J.K. Rowling of his day, at the start of an extraordinary rise to fame and fantastically prolific writing career. Mice seemed to fit somehow. My original ink drawing was reproduced then I added red, grey and silver watercolour by hand. I invented a new calligraphy hand for this card, one I've used often since.