This was apparently Dickens' second Christmas themed book (novella really), written after A Christmas Carol, but not as successful or well known. There are some clear similarities between the two; the main character is shown a vision of a bleak future as a warning by the goblins that inhabit the church bells that the main character listens to every day. The bleak future is heavy with social commentary on the plight of the poorer class in England and the callous attitude of the upper classes. In this case however the main character belongs to the poor lower class, which seemed a little strange to me since he is already a good person and is not in need of a lesson on the hardships of the lower class. It seems as if he's shown this bleak future that he has little control over, and then told that it doesn't have to turn out that way after all, but unlike Scrooge he doesn't undergo any fundamental character changes.

Overall not one of the stronger Dickens books, and seemed a bit out of his normal style.