A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired following …
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London's street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are the key themes of the story. There is discussion among academics as to whether this is a fully secular story, or if it is a Christian allegory.
Published on 19 December, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella favourably. The story was illicitly copied in January 1844; Dickens took legal action against the publishers, who went bankrupt, further reducing Dickens's small profits from the publication. He went on to write four other Christmas stories in subsequent years. In 1849 he began public readings of the story, which proved so successful he undertook 127 further performances until 1870, the year of his death. A Christmas Carol has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages; the story has been adapted many times for film, stage, opera and other media.
A Christmas Carol captured the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens had acknowledged the influence of the modern Western observance of Christmas and later inspired several aspects of Christmas, including family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.
I love the story of A Christmas Carol! I have seen film and TV versions including the great Blackadder one, and even attended a memorable live performance given by actor Clive Francis, however I don't think I have actually read the book since childhood so was delighted to find a battered vintage edition in a charity shop. Dickens' prose is wonderfully evocative and I don't think anyone can beat his detailed descriptions of Victorian London and the people inhabiting Scrooge's world. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting A Christmas Carol and the story is an essential part of Christmas tradition for me.
In my teenage years, I loved to explore second-hand bookshops with their seemingly random piles of previously loved books making it hard to squeeze between the overloaded bookcases. One winter, I bought a 1902 edition of "The Pickwick Papers" in two pocket-sized volumes. It was my introduction to Dickens, and I loved the crisp, browned pages and old-fashioned fonts, the humour, and the author's fantastic powers of description.
"The Pickwick Papers" firmly cemented the idea that Dickens was Christmas into my brain, and books like "Great Expectations" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" only reinforced the sentiment. I don't know when I first read "A Christmas Carol", but it was many decades ago, and I've basked in its glories most years since. It's my favourite of Dicken's Christmas ghost tales and an essential part of my festivities.
The most impressive aspect of this book is the imagery. Dickens's descriptions of …
In my teenage years, I loved to explore second-hand bookshops with their seemingly random piles of previously loved books making it hard to squeeze between the overloaded bookcases. One winter, I bought a 1902 edition of "The Pickwick Papers" in two pocket-sized volumes. It was my introduction to Dickens, and I loved the crisp, browned pages and old-fashioned fonts, the humour, and the author's fantastic powers of description.
"The Pickwick Papers" firmly cemented the idea that Dickens was Christmas into my brain, and books like "Great Expectations" and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" only reinforced the sentiment. I don't know when I first read "A Christmas Carol", but it was many decades ago, and I've basked in its glories most years since. It's my favourite of Dicken's Christmas ghost tales and an essential part of my festivities.
The most impressive aspect of this book is the imagery. Dickens's descriptions of a door knocker morphing into Marley's face, ghosts sweeping through the air trailing chains of safes and strong boxes, or the flight across a roaring sea are incredible achievements of imagination. It is easy to be blasé with our experience of computer graphics and sophisticated special effects, but Dickens's imagery is simply stunning.
Recommended to be read at Christmas... slowly... by candlelight... with a glass of Edradour 10-year-old at close hand.
"He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him."
To have a good spirit and be gentle, kind, and caring to everyone around us. This is what this story is about and …
"He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him."
To have a good spirit and be gentle, kind, and caring to everyone around us. This is what this story is about and much more. This story is probably one of many works of [a:Charles Dickens|239579|Charles Dickens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1387078070p2/239579.jpg] which explains why he was the master of his art, to tell such a great tale in the most telling way. This is also why he's one of my favorite authors.I will be reading this story again and again and I am sure it won't fail to amaze me every single time. And above all to be cheerful in festive times and be cheerful about life at all times.
I listened to the audiobook performance by Tim Curry. It was surprisingly dark compared to the film adaptations I grew up with. I had to take breaks from it at times to do happier activities. Very powerful.
First Dickens I actually completed! I must say, it is an enjoyable tale, and his archaic and verbose descriptions are a real pleasure (well, the majority of them, at any rate; there were a couple that were a bit strange -- more on that here).
Perhaps I will re-tackle one of his magnum opuses again one of these days.
"There's more of gravy than of the grave about you...."
Exquisite. The video production with George C. Scott is the most true to the work. Of some interest are the use of strait-waistcoat for strait-jacket and the reference to Joe Miller's jokes. Joe Miller is said to have been a popular comic actor of the 18th century whose name was put on a popular collection of jests published into the mid 19th century (staggernation.com/jmj/). The wikipedia entry comments that Mr. Miller was said to be unusually serious while at the Black Jack Tavern, and other Drury Lane players sarcastically attributed new jokes to him. There is also a Joe Miller Joke Day on his birthday (August 16th) on which it is apparently customary to tell an old joke.
Jest number XLI. from Joe Miller's Book of Jests (http://www.elfinspell.com/Humor/JoeMiller/JestBook1.html):
A YOUNG man met a rival who was somewhat advanced …
"There's more of gravy than of the grave about you...."
Exquisite. The video production with George C. Scott is the most true to the work. Of some interest are the use of strait-waistcoat for strait-jacket and the reference to Joe Miller's jokes. Joe Miller is said to have been a popular comic actor of the 18th century whose name was put on a popular collection of jests published into the mid 19th century (staggernation.com/jmj/). The wikipedia entry comments that Mr. Miller was said to be unusually serious while at the Black Jack Tavern, and other Drury Lane players sarcastically attributed new jokes to him. There is also a Joe Miller Joke Day on his birthday (August 16th) on which it is apparently customary to tell an old joke.
Jest number XLI. from Joe Miller's Book of Jests (http://www.elfinspell.com/Humor/JoeMiller/JestBook1.html):
A YOUNG man met a rival who was somewhat advanced in years, and, wishing to annoy him, inquired how old he was ? “I can’t exactly tell,” replied the other; “but I can inform you that an ass is older at twenty than a man at sixty !” (This joke is known to be at least 400 years old.)
This book was a really quick but fun read. I'm not sue why it took me so long to get it finally read, but. Now I'm so glad that I did. I do wish that there would have been a bit more, as far as Scrooge, and his character turning, but this book was just amazing. :)
Review of 'A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
When it comes to Christmas books, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is probably the first book that comes to mind. Published in 1843, this novella was an instant success and has been a beloved classic since then. I am not going to go into a plot summary because I believe most people know the story but if you don’t, go watch A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Told in five staves (similar to stanzas or verses) this book has been adapted so many times that A Christmas Carol has just become a part of the Christmas period.
While compassion, forgiveness and getting into the Christmas spirit is the major theme of this novella, one thing that really stuck with me is Dickens’ ideas of isolation and loneliness. While it is true that Ebenezer Scrooge never indicates he is feeling alone, since the death of Jacob Marley seven years earlier there is …
When it comes to Christmas books, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens is probably the first book that comes to mind. Published in 1843, this novella was an instant success and has been a beloved classic since then. I am not going to go into a plot summary because I believe most people know the story but if you don’t, go watch A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. Told in five staves (similar to stanzas or verses) this book has been adapted so many times that A Christmas Carol has just become a part of the Christmas period.
While compassion, forgiveness and getting into the Christmas spirit is the major theme of this novella, one thing that really stuck with me is Dickens’ ideas of isolation and loneliness. While it is true that Ebenezer Scrooge never indicates he is feeling alone, since the death of Jacob Marley seven years earlier there is a sense that he has falling in despair. Marley died on Christmas Eve and appeared to be Scrooge’s only companion, which leads to a disdain for the holiday period.
Charles Dickens wanted to emphasise the importance of being with friends and family, especially during Christmas. However I got the sense that he may have treated the idea of isolation poorly. Sure, Scrooge was a grumpy old man who was tight with his money but I got no real indication that he was unhappy to be alone. Scrooge could have been an introvert and enjoyed the quiet solitude; is that really such a bad thing?
Then all of a sudden Scrooge is cured from his rationality and becomes an extravert. This is a little strange, Scrooge’s emotional and psychological makeup might not be pleasant or agreeable to the popular worldview but they were his own thoughts. Scrooge was a financial supporter of The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 and didn’t want to give money to a charity that worked against his political ideology.
I am not bagging out A Christmas Carol, I do enjoy it but as I was re-reading this novella I kept wondering what this story is saying if we take out the element of Christmas. Basically this is the story of curing someone of his or her personality. I had a lot of fun looking at this book from another point of view, it just gave me a lot more to think about. A Christmas Carol is a nice quick story about the importance of being with your friends and family during this holiday period. Next year I might try Truman Capote’s collection of stories about Christmas.
This was fun. It was one of the John Ceepak mysteries loosely based on carnival rides and features. I've read (listened to) the other 6, and I get a true kick out of them. I don't know how to indicate a book that I've message to (unabridged, of course :-)) versus 1 that I am actually reading (The Good Lawyer). It being that I can only actually read about one book a month (I read slowly, and after about an hour, my eyes don't focus anymore). Anyway, I recommend the John Ceepak books by Chris Grabenstein. They aren't gory or violent, but they're more than fluff. My kids enjoyed listening with me on those.
This was the first time I read this story in full. Which is a shame because it's one of my absolute favorite holiday tales. Glad to say I've done it though, it's probably the only Dickens story I ever will complete.
I am shocked that the average rating for this book on this site is 3.86 (at least as I am writing this). This is easily one of the greatest things ever written in the English language (not that I've read everything, but I wanted a nice extreme statement of its goodness). I read it every Christmas, and it inspires me every time.
