The late Maria Hubert (1945-2007) was a cofounder of The Christmas Archives with her husband Andrew. She combined a love of history, folk custom, literature and research with knowledge of Latin, Greek, Spanish and Catalan learned in convents in the UK and Spain. A well-qualified cook, a great deal of her love for Christmas was born of her Yorkshire Christmas food customs. She was a frequent guest on radio and television in the UK, gaining extra fame in Japan with the launch of a Christmas museum in Hokkaido. Jane Austen's Christmas is a combination of her research, Andrew's photography and their combined writing talents.