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A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens, 1843

Held by Standard Ebooks, PG 46read here

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Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold London miser, is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his dead partner Jacob Marley, who warns him of the chains he is forging. Three spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come then take him through his lonely youth, the poor but happy home of his clerk Bob Cratchit and his sick son Tiny Tim, and a grave with his own name. Scrooge wakes on Christmas morning changed, sends a turkey to the Cratchits, and keeps Christmas from then on.

Where it happens

  1. London Chapman and Hall published the first edition here in 1843.1
  2. Marshalsea prison, Southwark Dickens's father was committed here as a debtor in 1824.12
  3. Field Lane Ragged School A visit to this school for London's street children helped inspire the novella.1
  4. Cornish tin mines In early 1843 Dickens toured the mines and was angered by the child labour there.1
  5. Portsmouth The birthplace of Dickens.2

Through time

  1. 1824Dickens's father is sent to the Marshalsea and Dickens, aged 12, is put to work in a blacking factory.12
  2. 1843Dickens tours the Cornish tin mines and visits the Field Lane Ragged School.1
  3. 1843A Christmas Carol is published on 19 December and sells out by Christmas Eve.1
  4. 1844A pirated copy appears in January, and Dickens sues the publishers.1
  5. 1849Dickens begins public readings of the story, giving 127 more by 1870.1
  6. 1870Dickens dies, ending the readings.12

Who is in it, and behind it

Charles Dickens author

English novelist, born in Portsmouth, who wrote the novella in 1843 and later read it aloud to audiences.12

Ebenezer Scrooge character

An elderly miser who is changed by the visits of Christmas spirits.1

Jacob Marley character

Scrooge's dead business partner, who returns as a ghost.1

John Leech subject

Illustrated the first edition of the novella.1

Washington Irving subject

His Sketch Book essays on old English Christmas customs influenced Dickens.1

Douglas Jerrold subject

A friend of Dickens whose 1841 and 1843 essays were an influence on the Carol.1

Chapman & Hall printer

The London publishers of the first edition in December 1843.1

What it is about

Redemption of a selfish man

Scrooge turns from miser to generous neighbour, and the story weighs whether this is secular or Christian allegory.1

Treatment of the poor

The poor and poor children are central, shaped by Dickens's reaction to the child-labour report.1

Revival of Christmas customs

Dickens wrote amid renewed interest in carols and Christmas traditions and sought to promote social connection.1

Fairy tale as conversion story

Dickens linked fairy tales to Christmas as stories of conversion and transformation.1

In its own words

Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
Stave I. The famous opening line, fixing the ghost story's premise. Read on
“Bah!” said Scrooge. “Humbug!” He had so heated himself with rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge’s, that he was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again
Stave I. Scrooge's first reply to his nephew's Christmas greeting. Read on
“Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business
Stave I. Marley's ghost says what his life should have been about. Read on
Why, it’s old Fezziwig! Bless his heart, it’s Fezziwig alive again!” Old Fezziwig laid down his pen, and looked up at the clock, which pointed to the hour of seven
Stave II. Scrooge sees his old employer's Christmas party in the Spirit of Christmas Past's visit. Read on
This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware of them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased
Stave III. The Spirit of Christmas Present reveals two children, Ignorance and Want. Read on
“God bless us every one!” said Tiny Tim, the last of all. He sat very close to his father’s side, upon his little stool
Stave III. Tiny Tim's blessing at the Cratchit table, which became the book's refrain. Read on
I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future
Stave IV. Scrooge's promise to change, made to the last spirit. Read on
And so, as Tiny Tim observed, “God Bless Us, Every One!”
Stave V. The closing line of the novella, echoing Tiny Tim's blessing. Read on

The shape of the book

6 chapters, 28,538 words. Point at a bar.

How it came to be here

Dickens wrote the novella in late 1843, during a money squeeze after the poor sales of Martin Chuzzlewit. He had been shaken by the Children's Employment Commission report, a visit to the Cornish tin mines and a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School. Chapman and Hall published it in London on 19 December 1843, with illustrations by John Leech, and the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. It was pirated in January 1844, and from 1849 Dickens performed readings from it. It has never been out of print. The site carries the Project Gutenberg text, as prepared by Standard Ebooks.

Free to read elsewhere

Sources

  1. A Christmas Carol (Wikipedia)
  2. Charles Dickens (Wikipedia)
  3. A Christmas Carol, Standard Ebooks

Text: PG 46. CC0 (Standard Ebooks).

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