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    A Christmas Carol
    A Christmas Carol
    A Christmas Carol
    Ebook171 pages1 hour

    A Christmas Carol

    By Arthur Rackham and Charles Dickens

    4.5/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 1
    Author

    Arthur Rackham

    Arthur Rackham (1867–1939) was a British illustrator.

    Read more from Arthur Rackham

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    Reviews for A Christmas Carol

    4.5/5

    248 ratings231 reviews

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    • 4/5
      He was so fluttered and so glowing with his good intentions, that his broken voice would scarcely answer to his call. He had been sobbing violently in his conflict with the Spirit, and his face was wet with tears.
      It is hardly a surprise that the holiday arrived this year without my falling into the mood. Overwork and unseasonable weather has left me jarred -- quite removed from the trappings of the spirit. My wonderful wife bought me one of them there smartphones -- so I could join the century. I was simply pleased to be with her on a rainy morning with the thought of the trip to my family weighing rather ominously. I survived it all and actually enjoyed myself. I did not read Mr. Dickens there.

      We came home and enjoyed Chinese take-away and it was then that I turned again to the Christian charm of social justice by means of poltergeists: spectral redemption. There are sound reasons why this tale has proliferated since its inception.
    • 5/5
      This is the way to enjoy this story – having Tim Curry read it to you. He does an absolutely fabulous job and it was just a total delight.

      For the story – I love how creepy yet still uplifting the author was able to keep the story. He has really had you feeling for past Ebenezer. I would have liked more about Bob Cratchit because he always seems so much more developed as a character in the cinematic versions of the story. I kind of missed that.

      Tim Curry gives this story a fabulous feel and it keeps you listening to very end. He gives each character a distinct voice and really does the creepy justice. Great way to enjoy a classic.
    • 5/5
      Such a pleasure to read these lovely words! You may know the story, but until you read Charles Dickens’ own words you haven’t truly experienced the magic.
    • 5/5
      This was brilliant, Patrick Stewart does an excellent job portraying the different characters.
    • 5/5
      This is a great performance of a wonderful classic.

      I think there are few people who don't know the story: Ebenezer Scrooge, tight-fisted businessman who calls Christmas a humbug and has no use for charity or kindness, goes home on Christmas Eve, and is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns him of the fate he has been forging for himself by caring only for business and not for other people, but promises him he has one last chance at salvation.

      He will be visited by three spirits: the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Be. Scrooge is not delighted at this news, but it's not a choice for him. The spirits are coming.

      Tim Curry animates the characters with power, flexibility, and control. We feel the chill of Scrooge's office, and rooms, and heart, and correspondingly the warmth of his nephew's home and heart, as well as Bob Cratchit's home, heart, and family. We hear, and thereby see and feel, the hardships of Victorian London, as well as its life and color.

      This is a great way to enjoy this wonderful classic of the Christmas season.

      Recommended.

      I received this book free as a member of the Ford Audiobook Club.
    • 5/5
      I recently received a new version of a great classic, A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens. This particular version is illustrated by Francine Haskins with an afterword by Kyra E. Hick. This version has wonderful illustrations that belong in everyone's collection. Thank you to Kyra E. Hick for bringing this to my attention so that I may share it. Francine Haskins brings to live a Christmas Carol for ALL to enjoy regardless of where we live.
    • 5/5
      No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty.
      This was surprisingly quite funny! The narration was done in that particular style that seems to have been largely abandoned by modern authors: third-person told from a first-person non-character narrator. I love this style! Many of my favorite classics (Peter Pan, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc) are told in this style, and it always lends itself a storybook quality that is sorely lacking in today's literature.

      The story itself was something I am at this point extremely familiar with, as it has permeated all corners of Western civilization at this point, but still, there were some things that are often excluded in most adaptations, such as the children of mankind: "They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. 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." (Except for that one with Jim Carrey, but it added that weird chase scene.) Those parts not oft-explored were really interesting and added a great deal of meaning to the story.

      I am quite glad I read this. This was my first Dickens experience and it has fully convinced me that I really need to read more classics! Time to read them instead of watching their BBC Masterpiece Classics adaptations!

      "There are some upon this earth of yours," returned the Spirit, "who claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us, and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived."
    • 5/5
      A book that stands the test of time and I read this with the approach of Christmas! A very enjoyable book even if you know exactly what is going to happen, worth worth it and it is quite a small book.
    • 5/5
      Every year at Christmas the kids and I reread A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens but this year I won a copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, Illustated by Francine Haskins and  Afterword by Kyra E. Hicks on Library Thing. This popular classic was not changed it was wonderfully illustrated with contemporary line drawings as it brings all of the characters to life as Black Victorians. The Afterword highlights over 100 African Americans, Black British and Canadian actors that have performed A Christmas Carol over the last century demonstrating this story belongs to everyone. Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Go Read, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, and my blog at readsbystacie.com
    • 5/5
      Wonderful illustrations by PJ Lynch sets this edition above the others. The full page illustrations throughout the book helps bring the story alive with the scenes of Victorian England.
    • 4/5
      The 8th of Dickens' 24 major works, and the 1st of his 5 "Christmas novellas".... well, this is just wonderful, isn't it? Next to the characters of Oliver Twist, Scrooge and his ghosts - not to mention that little brat Tim - must be the most well-known Dickensians of our cultural consciousness. This is just first-class stuff, showcasing Dickens' skill for shorter fiction. Scrooge is perhaps Dickens' first real character. No, he's no Emma Bovary, I'll admit. But the short bursts we get of his life, combined with the ultimate causes of his change, give more insight than we saw in Oliver, Nicholas, Nell, and Barnaby. I think every person in the Western world has read this novella but, if you haven't, what are you waiting for? (The other four Christmas novellas... yeah, not so much.)
    • 5/5
      It was so much fun to finally read this classic. I have seen it as a play and in several versions of television Christmas special, but of course the original book wins the prize!
    • 3/5
      so well crafted. great writing; great articulation of an idea
    • 5/5
      review A Christmas Carol is remarkably shorter than I would have guessed and had I known, I would have fit it in earlier. The story is an incredible journey of transformation of heart, all within a couple of hours read. Lovely!
    • 3/5
      Uiteraard erg melo en wat belegen, maar toch mooi. Licht dantesk van opbouw
    • 5/5
      There are many books about the Christmas season that are well written. One of them at the top of my list is "A Christmas Carol". Mostly because I believe it speaks about generosity. But also because it ties in things that are important to me about the season, like gathering together with family and supporting children in need.I've viewed the mid - Victorian story on film and stage, but the book is my most beloved. And, it has been translated into several languages.I love the wordiness of Dickens and feel that he makes us aware Christmas is a time when, "Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices". And, I expect it would have been great to live in a time to hear Dickens recite this himself. Yes, Ebenezer Scrooge, is haunted by his business partner Jacob Marley with the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet To Come. In reading this, you know that Scrooge is melancholy. But after their haunting visits he learns of his own ignorance and wants and is a changed man. This story make us all realize the lessons life teaches us in controlling the shadow of our own growing tree. As this book points out in the beginning, where our shadow may fall.Purchased
    • 5/5
      This was my first time actually reading A Christmas Carol, although I've been familiar with the story from a young age. I enjoyed both an illustrated version and the audiobook, narrated by Tim Curry. I can assuredly say that no adaptation does this story justice. Dickens is a master of words and I felt utterly transported by his descriptions. I highly recommend reading this one if you never have. And then I recommend watching Scrooged, just because. Merry Christmas!
    • 5/5
      Dickens never disappoints. While I have seen many of the multitudes of movie adaptations, I have no clear recollection of ever reading the novella. So I sat down and read it this year. It's actually amazing how much this classic novella has influenced English (and American) culture, and Christmas traditions. At the time of publication, many of the nostalgia and tradition associated with Christmas had been in decline.

      Dickensian characters are always a delight, and this certainly holds true for A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, the Fezziwigs, they all hold their own in comparison to other great Dickensian characters.

      It was interesting to read Dickens immediately following Twain, who were contemporaries. I appreciate them both.
    • 5/5
      There's not much left to say about this quintessential Christmas tale by the inimitable Charles that remains unsaid, but it's always a treat to revisit the source of so much of our western Christmas morality.
    • 4/5
      Great classic story!
    • 4/5
      A Christmas Carol is the one classic that almost everyone knows, even if they've never read the book. It's shorter and easier to read than most of Dickens' other books and really is suitable for people of all ages. I loved it as a child and after re-reading it this week for the first time in years, I loved it as an adult too. No matter how many movies, cartoons or TV adaptions you may have seen, it's still worth reading the book for the richness and humour of Dickens' writing and for his wonderful descriptions and imagery. Although some readers might find it too sentimental at times, it's easy to see why this book has become a timeless classic, as it is everything a good Christmas story should be - heartwarming, inspirational and with an important message for us all.
    • 5/5
      From Gutenberg, the 1843 edition, with John Leech illustrations. I decided to watch as many visual versions of the story as I could this year (on #11 as I type this - the oldest surviving adaptation, a 1901 short ... gotta love the internet), and I realized that I'd not read this since I was 13, so forty years is long enough.

      I give five stars for inspiring so many adaptations. That and so pretty good writing. "The dealings of my rade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!" And things weren't much different in 1843 England than from today's tea partiers and FoxNews watchers: Dickens named a creature hidden in the robes of Christmas Present "Ignorance", crying "...but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom..."

      Trivium point I had long forgotten: Cratchit's name isn't mentioned until Christmas Present.
    • 3/5
      Uiteraard erg melo en wat belegen, maar toch mooi. Licht dantesk van opbouw
    • 4/5
      Knowing the story so well in other media, I thought I'd read the original to better appreciate the variants in its many interpretations. Dickens' catchy descriptions are the finest treasure to be had from it. Scrooge lives in a dismal locale where his home "had so little business to be, it must have run there when it was a young house playing at hide-and-seek with other houses, and have forgotten the way out again." The plot moves like the wind compared to his novels. Tiny Tim is shallowly drawn, and yet wins more empathy from the reader than Oliver, Nell or Barnaby could muster. The ending is not so over the top as the movie versions, but even so Bob Crachit is tempted to call for a straightjacket when confronted by a transformed Scrooge. Too much thought at the end is liable to break the charming spell, if you attempt to imagine being confronted by such a man undergoing such a dramatic change. There's no need for that, just read and enjoy.
    • 3/5
      The timeless classic of a grumpy old man who gets a wake up call from a ghostly friend/former business partner & some other ethereal beings.

      I know the back of the novel I have says that its the "unabridged" version, but this seems much shorter than other copies I've seen, so I can't honestly say if that is true or not.
    • 4/5
      An enjoyable tale about a vicious man who sees the error of his way with a little spiritual help.
    • 4/5
      I love A Christmas Carol. I always have. It's a great story...it's a great lesson to learn and it's very well written. There is nothing bad to say about this book.
    • 4/5
      read it every christmas
    • 5/5
      Dickens eminently accesible, immortal masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      Well, I don't need to tell anybody here about Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol. I might be the only person living who hadn't already read it at some point. I'll just say Tim Curry is brilliant (also not news) and he elevated the story to art. My reaction throughout the story was surprise, as I had always had the impression that Scrooge was a hostile witness throughout the first two ghosts' visits. That's what I get for comparing the real thing to a TV adaptation. Anyway, if you're looking for a brilliant audio production of a classic for Christmas, look no further than this little gem.

    Book preview

    A Christmas Carol - Arthur Rackham

    The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

    This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

    almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

    re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

    with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

    Title: A Christmas Carol

    Author: Charles Dickens

    Illustrator: Arthur Rackham

    Release Date: December 24, 2007 [EBook #24022]

    Language: English

    *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A CHRISTMAS CAROL ***

    Produced by Suzanne Shell, Janet Blenkinship and the Online

    Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

    How now? said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever.

    What do you want with me?

    A CHRISTMAS CAROL

    BY

    CHARLES DICKENS

    ILLUSTRATED BY ARTHUR RACKHAM

    J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK

    FIRST PUBLISHED 1915

    ISBN: 0-397-00033-2

    PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

    PREFACE

    I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an Idea which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their house pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.

    Their faithful Friend and Servant,

    C. D.

    December, 1843.

    CHARACTERS

    Bob Cratchit, clerk to Ebenezer Scrooge.

    Peter Cratchit, a son of the preceding.

    Tim Cratchit (Tiny Tim), a cripple, youngest son of Bob Cratchit.

    Mr. Fezziwig, a kind-hearted, jovial old merchant.

    Fred, Scrooge's nephew.

    Ghost of Christmas Past, a phantom showing things past.

    Ghost of Christmas Present, a spirit of a kind, generous, and hearty nature.

    Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, an apparition showing the shadows of things which yet may happen.

    Ghost of Jacob Marley, a spectre of Scrooge's former partner in business.

    Joe, a marine-store dealer and receiver of stolen goods.

    Ebenezer Scrooge, a grasping, covetous old man, the surviving partner of the firm of Scrooge and Marley.

    Mr. Topper, a bachelor.

    Dick Wilkins, a fellow apprentice of Scrooge's.

    Belle, a comely matron, an old sweetheart of Scrooge's.

    Caroline, wife of one of Scrooge's debtors.

    Mrs. Cratchit, wife of Bob Cratchit.

    Belinda and Martha Cratchit, daughters of the preceding.

    Mrs. Dilber, a laundress.

    Fan, the sister of Scrooge.

    Mrs. Fezziwig, the worthy partner of Mr. Fezziwig.

    CONTENTS

    LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

    IN COLOUR

    IN BLACK AND WHITE

    STAVE ONE

    MARLEY'S GHOST

    Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

    Mind! I don't mean to say that I know of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the country's done for. You will, therefore, permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.

    Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I don't know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.

    The mention of Marley's funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet's father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot—say St. Paul's Churchyard, for instance—literally to astonish his son's weak mind.

    Scrooge never painted out Old Marley's name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names. It was all the same to him.

    Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days, and didn't thaw it one degree at Christmas.

    External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn't know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often 'came down' handsomely, and Scrooge never did.

    Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, 'My dear Scrooge, how are you? When will you come to see me?' No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was o'clock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blind men's dogs appeared to know him; and, when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, 'No eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!'

    But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call 'nuts' to Scrooge.

    Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather; foggy withal; and he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them. The City clocks had only just gone three, but it

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