A Christmas Carol (Illustrated by Arthur Rackham with an Introduction by Hall Caine)

By Charles Dickens

First published in 1843, “A Christmas Carol” is arguably Dickens’s most popular and accessible work. An instant success ever since its original publication, it is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, a cold, bitter, old miser who despises Christmas and everything about it. When the ghost of Scrooge’s former business partner, Jacob Marley, visits him on Christmas Eve exactly seven years after his death, Scrooge is challenged to rethink his ways before it is too late. Over the course of the evening he is visited by three more spirits, the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come. These visits help Scrooge to see the error in his ways transforming him by the end of the story into a kinder and gentler soul. Inspired by his experiences as a child, Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” highlights the plight of the lower class in 19th century England through an enduring and ultimately heart-warming tale. This edition includes an introduction by Hall Caine, a biographical afterword, and is illustrated by Arthur Rackham.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Digireads.com Publishing
• Release date: Jan 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781420952292

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic. Regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens had a prolific collection of works including fifteen novels, five novellas, and hundreds of short stories and articles. The term “cliffhanger endings” was created because of his practice of ending his serial short stories with drama and suspense. Dickens’ political and social beliefs heavily shaped his literary work. He argued against capitalist beliefs, and advocated for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens advocacy for such causes is apparent in his empathetic portrayal of lower classes in his famous works, such as The Christmas Carol and Hard Times.

Book preview

cover.jpgimg1.png

A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens

Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

Introduction by Hall Caine

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-5228-5

eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-5229-2

This edition copyright © 2015. Digireads.com Publishing.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Cover Image: Tiny Tim and Bob Cratchit on Christmas Day by Jessie Wilcox Smith from Dickens’s Children, New York, C. Scribner’s Sons, 1912.

Please visit www.digireads.com

CONTENTS

Introduction

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Preface

Stave One. Marley’s Ghost

Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits

Stave Three. The Second of the Three Spirits

Stave Four. The Last of the Spirits

Stave Five. The End of It

img2.jpg

"How now?" said Scrooge, caustic and cold as ever "What do you want with me?"

Introduction

LORD OF LAUGHTER AND TEARS

If I were asked to say which of the world’s authors is at this moment the most beloved, both in his own country and in foreign countries, I should answer without hesitation—Charles Dickens.

What is the secret of the success of Dickens? Not, in my judgment, his gifts as a novelist only, though they were great and wonderful; not his invention, for though its wings seem never to tire they make few or no new flights; not his construction, for though it is sometimes ingenious it is often obvious and sometimes crude; not his dramatic fire, for though it burns to a great heat it is nearly always kindled on the old hearths; not his knowledge of character, for though it is delightful and inexhaustible it is often superficial, too frequently founded on characteristics, and too rarely coming from the deep places; not even his humor or his pathos, for though the one is never failing, and the other is simple and sincere, both suffer from the fashions of the age in which they were produced.

A man might have all, or nearly all, Dickens’ invention, construction, dramatic fire, knowledge of character, humor, and pathos, without achieving a hundredth part of his success.

What, then, is Dickens’ secret? By virtue of what quality is he the most beloved of all modern writers, at home or abroad? Why has he gone to the heart of our generation just as surely as he went to the heart of his own? Why does he come to countless thousands closer than a brother, closer than a sister, and as close sometimes as their secret souls? I have only one answer, and it is a very simple and obvious one. The secret of Dickens is love. Love of humanity in all its classes, and in all its aspects, but, most of all, in its suffering, under oppression, under the dark wing of fate, and the great mysteries of the hand of God.

It is because Dickens loved humanity that humanity loves Dickens. We are all children, the oldest and the wisest of us, and we go to the heart that loves us best. Consciously or unconsciously we are doing it every day and in every walk of life. Talent and genius attract us in degree as they are guided by love. A man may have the powers of Satan, but if he only hates, derides, ridicules, and satirizes us, he does nothing but repel. The hand that chastises us must be moved by the heart that loves us, or it does no good.

Dickens loved humanity with the over-indulgent fondness of a father who spoils his children; but even that is a ground of affection. He had no love of the faults of the human family, and he never paints them in false colors. The vanities of the world never once took such possession of him that he lost the sense of their proportion, their tendency, and their effects. His sympathies were always with the feeble and the downtrodden; his eyes were ever open for the sufferings of life’s little ones, who were not strong enough to fight the battle for themselves. I cannot recall a single case in which Dickens took the side of the strong against the weak, or remember a single instance of bigotry, or prejudice, or narrow feeling exercised to the injury of any class or race. A bad man was a bad man, whatever his blood or position, and a good man was a good man, whatever his clothes or condition. Hence the breadth of Dickens, his large horizon, his contrasted and catholic world; hence the good he has done in breaking the barriers that divide man from man, and hence the love with which humanity rewards him.

It is difficult to realize the contribution that Dickens has made to the spiritual life of the world. The man who took Daniel Peggotty into the palace, little Nell into the mining camp, and tiny Tim into the home of the self-centered old bachelor whose sympathies circled round the safe that contained his securities; the man who brought Sydney Carton to the bleared eyes of the hopeless drunkard, and Dora to the broken heart of the bereaved husband, was a great reformer, and a great teacher. And thus it is that to be a great writer is the same thing as to be a great man. There is no escape from that conclusion, and I do not know a case that really proves the contrary. Dickens was a noble novelist because he was, first of all, a noble man.

How little they know of the first impulse of the human heart who are forever telling us that it is the business of art to represent life—life as it is, as we see it, life with its breaks, its pauses, its unsatisfying endings, its lack of justice, its tragic mystery and unaccountable pain! Such people have their reward, but it is not the reward that Dickens enjoys, the reward of gratitude, of tears, of shining eyes and uplifted hearts. All that comes to him who sees, as Dickens saw, beyond the real the ideal, above the halting infirmities the mighty possibilities. Only the great writers can do this, but when it is done the world is at their feet.

I do not wonder that Dickens is today—thirty-five years after his death—the most beloved of authors, English or foreign. Notwithstanding his obvious limitations, and in spite of the smiles of the superior person, he could only be where he is, or something must have gone astray with human nature and human need. For a man who loved humanity as Dickens loved it, who saw it as he saw it, who could tell a story as Dickens could tell one, who had humor and pathos, and fire and grip, there is one place only in the esteem of the people, the place closest to their heart of hearts.

There is an aspect of the genius of Dickens which cannot be overlooked in a book containing The Christmas Carol—the attitude of his mind towards Christmas. Among those who have felt how great is the value to humanity of the festivals that unite mankind, and how incalculable is the benefit of that day which celebrates the greatest event that ever happened in the world, Dickens stands first as the exponent of the generous emotions that for the moment make all men kin. I try in vain to think of any possible addition to the sentiment of charity and brotherhood which his genius gathered around Christmas. In this way, as in other ways, he spoke out of his own heart to the hearts of his fellow men. Though his soul had known sorrow (especially the deep and abiding sorrow of childhood) it was never tired of showing that dark as life might be, the sun shone sometimes, and never so brightly as at Christmas. Therefore it is that among the beautiful books of the world there are few or none more beautiful than a book like this, which tells the rich that in the midst of their plenty they must not forget the poor, and, looking on the happiness of their own children, they must remember the children who are sad as he was when he was a poor little drudge in a blacking warehouse.

God bless him! If he were alive today he would be ninety odd years of age, and the birthday of no sovereign, no soldier, no statesman now living, would be celebrated with such rejoicings as that of the old man, whose only claim to love and respect would be the claim of a simple story-teller. But the story-teller would be the great friend, the great kinsman, the great brother of a great multitude—the great heart to whom they were accustomed to go in happy hours and in sad ones, the great soul who knew

Reviews for A Christmas Carol (Illustrated by Arthur Rackham with an Introduction by Hall Caine)

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

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.

[tvnerd95 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[susangeiss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[karenduff · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was brilliant, Patrick Stewart does an excellent job portraying the different characters.

[liscarey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[sboren-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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

[andrew1theqm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[elizatanner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[faith_murri · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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."

[1avidfan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[forevermasterless · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A Christmas Carol is a story I've seen I don't know how many adaptations for. I recently watched the one from Doctor Who, which was excellent, but there are a lot of good ones, and it's a good story. A bit overused and overrated, but good.

This is the first time I read the original story, and I have to say I came away sorely disappointed. This is one of those cases where the best adaptations have something that the original story just doesn't. It seems to me that some of the adaptations give Scrooge a better reason for being a dickhead than the original story did. Here he was lonely and poor as a child, and that's pretty much it. I guess that's reason enough to be a dickhead? Sure, why not. It doesn't help that we fly right through the familiar treks of the story so fast and with no time to breathe that nothing sinks in or carries weight. Scrooge's lonely childhood is summed up in a vague sentence about him being neglected by his friends. How the hell am I supposed to give two shits about his already incredibly generic rough childhood if they don't even stop to focus on the details that make it unique to him?

This is the first time I've read Dickens, and I really do not care for his writing style one bit, which definitely put a damper on any enjoyment I might have had . It rarely evokes emotion or vivid imagery and is just...oddly worded and structured. Here's an example:
In the struggle, if that can be called a struggle in which the Ghost with no visible resistance on its own part was undisturbed by any effort of its adversary, Scrooged observed that its light was burning high and bright; and dimly connecting that with its influence over him, he seized the extinguisher-cap, and by a sudden action pressed it down upon its head.
I honestly don't understand how someone living today can enjoy a book that's written this way. I'm sure it was great in it's time and everything, but it's just so counter to how prose has evolved since then. It's superfluous, redundant, and overwrought.

The weird thing is, I have no idea if it's just a product of the time, or if it's unique to Dickens. I have thoroughly enjoyed quite a lot of books from the 1800s, ala Sherlock Holmes, H.G. Wells, etc. Those books are a joy to read. They are easy to read. Their prose is clear, and elegant. Sure, they still show some signs of that older style of writing, but it's never a blockade like it is here. It never impedes forward progress, or makes comprehension/immersion any more difficult than reading modern prose would be. Those are from the 1880s or later, however, and this book was written in 1843. Perhaps that 37 year gap holds a much wider difference in prose style than I think it should? I've read plenty of books from the 1950s that seem almost contemporary, but I have no idea if that's a fair comparison. Either way, it's not much fun to read now. Not much fun at all. Bah Humbug!

[mmoj_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

All time favorite Christmas book. Dickens understood man's greed and avarice and disregard for society's downtrodden. Yet even while knowing so much of his fellow man Dickens still believes that humanity can change and their is hope in even the hardest of hearts. Dickens introduces the character of Scrooge, a man who has become so caught-up in the almighty dollar that he has forgotten about his fellow man. But Dickens sends Scrooge a second (and a first and third !) in the form of three ghosts - The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. Through their visits Scrooge discovers what he has forgotten (perhaps never known) - that love and kindness make even the worst of situations bearable. I think that Scrooge's nephew Fred is Dickens alternate ego. After reading Dickens writing I always feel like I have been to that England that Dickens knew. I can taste the hot chestnuts, the plum pudding, and the roasted goose; smell the stink of the over-crowded city, and feel the awe and wonder Tiny Tim must have felt while going to the cathedral for Christmas service and when he and his father came home to a beautiful big Christmas goose. I wish everyone could read this book and have their hearts open to the joy of giving and their minds open to miracles.

[robert.zimmermann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Being my first Dickens, I won't be shying away from him just yet, but I figured I'd start with a short one first. Most of us already know the story of A Christmas Carol. There are so many adaptations of it in the modern world that it's hard to escape it. When looking at the story itself, I might think to have given it almost 5 stars. But that's not all that goes into writing a book. If I had the option, I would have cut a majority of what was written into this book. Dickens seems to like listing off anything and everything, whenever he can. When establishing the setting of a scene, he wrote on and on about various things, but by the time he got back to moving the story forward, I'd given up on caring where it was set anymore. At least the dialogue was strong enough.

So I'm torn between the story and the writing style for this one, and I predict it'll be the case in any future Dickens I try out. I might be surprised though. Time will tell. Maybe the thick books I have on my shelf isn't the author being long winded and stretching out a story for no reason. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.

[nadinec.keels · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.” Before he sings such a blessed, spirit-of-the-holiday tune, however, Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly grump living a lucrative but deplorable and loveless life. But a rather terrifying, painful, and enlightening adventure on Christmas Eve night will help him change his tune in A Christmas Carol, a tale by author Charles Dickens. Hilarious, touching, altogether delightful–I see why this story is such a classic. Well, not that I haven’t seen it before: I saw a play adaptation at the theater as a child, and the 1951 film adaptation, Scrooge, with Alastair Sim, has become a holiday staple of mine. I’ve long lost count of how many times I’ve watched the film, of which I can now say with confidence that, even with its handful of cinematic departures from the book, Scrooge captures and conveys the spirit of A Christmas Carol quite wonderfully. Ah, blessed Christmasness. And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! THE END

[razinha-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[schmicker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dickens eminently accesible, immortal masterpiece.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Uiteraard erg melo en wat belegen, maar toch mooi. Licht dantesk van opbouw

[bnielsen_30 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Indeholder "Et juleeventyr", "Nytårsklokkerne", "Fårekyllingen ved arnen", "Livets kamp", "Manden, der så spøgelser eller Handelen med Fantomet"."Et juleeventyr" handler om: Gnieren Ebenezer Scrooge, der bliver omvendt til et bedre liv ved at se konsekvenserne af sine handlinger. Drivende sentimentalt ævl med medvirken af blandt andre Lilletim og Jacob Marleys genfærd. Og selvfølgelig en klassiker. Dickens fik efter sigende betaling pr ord og det kan godt fornemmes. En af Æsops fabler på tre sider kunne formidle samme historie på meget kortere plads."Nytårsklokkerne" handler om ???"Fårekyllingen ved arnen" handler om ???"Livets kamp" handler om ???"Manden, der så spøgelser eller Handelen med Fantomet" handler om ??????

[bibliophile26 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great classic story!

[c8brody · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I chose A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens because I have watched many movie adaptions of the book and I wanted to see the differences between the books and the films. The book also happens to be part of my book collection and had been sitting in dust for quite some time. The book is about an old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge who owns a counting house. He’s a grouchy man who never has a kind word to say to anybody and only cares about business. On Christmas eve, he is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley who warns him that unless he change his way, he will suffer a bad fate when he dies and that he will be visited by three ghosts.The three ghosts show him his past, present and future to show Scrooge how badly he treated others and Scrooge reflects upon it all and becomes a better man.After reading the book, I can see why it has been adapted so many times for film or for theatre. The book has vivid imagery, it’s fast paced and a relatively simple story that it is easy to make a film adaption with little alteration to the story.I enjoyed reading the book; I thought the story was imaginative and innovative for something written in the 18th century. I was a bit worried that it would be too old fashioned, full of flowery language with passages that drag out but it was easy to read language wise and pace wise.

[holmesgirl221b · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This timeless classic has some emotional truth for Dickens. He traveled to the heart of his own emotional loneliness as a young child, packed off the work in a blacking factory because his father was imprisoned for debts. He fictionalised this loneliness in the figure of the young Scrooge, who is left alone at school each Christmas. In a simplistic, but compelling psychological analysis, he portrays Scrooge as a man who has built a wall of money around himself to defeat the loneliness of his childhood.This book has sentimental value to me, and I love reading this at Christmas time each year, as I follow Ebenezer through a journey of discovery. The three ghosts who appear to haunt Scrooge out of his uncharitable ways. Christmas past taking him back to his childhood, abandoned at school over the festive season, and the happy days of his youth as a clerk in London engaged to the daughter of the wonderfully named Mr Fezzywig. His bitter regret as he foolishly drives her away before his increasingly miserly ways. He is deeply saddened at the sense of a wasted life. The ghost of Christmas present then takes him out to the snowy streets to see how others, such as the family of his humble clerk Bob Cratchit are celebrating. But it is the third ghost, the terrifying grim reaper of Christmas yet to come, who really has an affect on Scrooge. Seeing his own death, lying forgotten as the very linen from his bed is stolen and sold by the people hated him. He suddenly realises how alone and unhappy he is and how his life could be if he had a change of disposition, and helped others as he would be able to do.So Scrooge becomes a changed man, promising to help care for Tiny Tim and finally accepting his nephew's invitation to join his own family on Christmas morning.

[bill5bradford · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Who does not know the story? This is my fourth time through A Christmas Carol and each time reveals something new. I am currently in the midst of reading God and Charles Dickens: Recovering the Christian Voice of a Classic Author by Gary Colledge, and this time through the Christian references were much more poignant. The illustrations in this edition were a very nice addition, and it is nice to see a standard Kindle edition with them. The book would always get 5 stars, and the Kindle version does as well.

[amandamay83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There's not much to say about this book that hasn't already said by many others (and said better than I am capable of). Obviously, it's a great book. It's a classic for a reason. That said, this was my first foray into Dickens, and two things struck me about this book:

1.) I was genuninely shocked to realize that Dickens had a sense of humor! I chuckled out loud a couple of times. For some reason, I expected this to be a very serious book, and it really was not.

2.) I was also genuninely shocked by how closely the movie adaptations follow the book...something that never happens. Granted, this is such a short book, it's easy to remain true to it. But even the Mickey Mouse version is pretty darn accurate!

It was a great read for our December bookclub meeting...festive AND short. Glad I finally got around to reading this one.

[cait815 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

*** This was a reread. I originally read this book many years ago, and have seen and heard numerous variations since. This time around I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jim Dale, who can do no wrong in my eyes ears.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[dollinha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A well-known and famous Christmas Classic written by the master wordsmith. This is a great book to read at Christmas time.

[regularguy5mb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What better way to get oneself into the Christmas Spirit than by reading THE Christmas story?Think about how many times this tale has been told and retold, adapted to stage and screen, and even used in multiple television shows for that one-off Christmas episode the writers just weren't in the mood to be original on (kidding... sort of...). It all comes back to Ebenezer Scrooge and the Christmas he was visited by three spirits (four counting his former business partner, Jacob Marley). A visit that would leave him greatly changed for the better. I think one of the reasons the story resonates so well is it has the power to remind us of the worst parts of ourselves as human beings, and makes sure we know there is still time to fix things if we need to. And, among other things, be kind.After this year (2016), I know that I for one needed the message Dickens provides in this classic, so I'm definitely glad I decided to read it again this particular Christmas season.

[elkehannover · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Inhaltsangabe:Ebener Scrooge ist ein reicher Kaufmann, der aus ärmlichen Verhältnissen stammt. Seit dem Tod seines Geschäftsparnters Marley ist er noch geiziger, noch kaltherziger und garstiger geworden. Und die Weihnachtszeit ist ihm sowieso ein Greuel, denn das bedeutet, das sein Kommis Cratchit einen bezahlten freien Tag bekommt.Doch am Abend vor Weihnachten bekommt Scrooge plötzlich Besuch: Den Geist von Marley. Marley kündigt ihm den Besuch von drei Geistern an: den Geist der vergangenen, der gegenwärtigen und zukünftigen Weihnacht. Und Marley mahnt ihn, sich sehr bald zu ändern, denn sonst würde ihm das gleiche Schicksal ereilt wie ihm.Mit schlotternden Knien erwartet Scrooge die Geister und macht sich mit ihnen auf eine Reise, die ihn für immer verändern.Mein Fazit:Eine bezaubernde Weihnachtsgeschichte, die heute traditionell einfach nicht mehr fehlen darf, weder als Buch noch im Fernsehen. Schon mehrfach verfilmt, strahlt die Geschichte immer wieder eine Botschaft aus: Es ist Weihnachten, habe Mitleid, praktiziere Nächstenliebe und schieb den Groll beiseite.Charles Dickens bedient sich dabei einer sehr bildlichen Sprache, beweist zuweilen trockenen Humor und zeigt ohne mahnenden Zeigefinger die Mißstände in der zwei-Klassen-Gesellschaft auf, die damals in England herrschten und im Grunde zeitlos überall bis heute vorherrschen. Deshalb hat diese Geschichte ihren wahren Charakter bis heute nicht verloren und kann noch viele weitere Generationen zu Weihnachten erzählt werden.Dies ist eigentlich eher eine Kindergeschichte, aber ich denke, auch -oder gerade- Erwachsene haben etwas davon. Ich kann es immer wieder empfehlen. Trotz der an einigen Stellen holprigen Sprache (ist ja auch schon 160 Jahre alt) kann man es ganz gut verstehen.Von mir bekommt das Buch 4,5 von 5 Sternchen.Anmerkung: Die Rezension stammt aus Dezember 2009.Veröffentlicht am 22.12.15!

[rrainer-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I try to reread this one every year at Christmas, though I'm a little late with it this year. It is just as wonderful each time.

[jmoncton_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A friend of mine (Thanks, Carmen) had sent me an article about Dickens that said the perfect age to introduce this author to a child is 12. I'm not sure if I agree with the article - Dickens can be wordy and his books don't have a chance of competing with the action packed stories that our young adults are reading today. But, I love Dickens and I want my 12 year old son to love him also, so I decide that A Christmas Carol would be the perfect story to enjoy together as a family, especially since the audio version I have is narrated by Jim Dale.

We were not disappointed! This book was not only filled with humor and charm, but also preached a valuable lesson on the true meaning of Christmas - without being too preachy. But, what really surprised me was how much this book touched me. Let's face it. It's December 5th, I have not started my holiday shopping, and I was beginning to get a little panicked. But nowhere in this classic Christmas story, does Dickens talk about Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or internet shopping vs buying local. The lesson Ebeneezer Scrooge learns from the Christmas Ghosts is that the holiday is a time to connect and enjoy family and friends. What a good reminder for us all!