A Christmas Carol

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: Sep 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9781420976625

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.

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A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens

Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

Introduction by Hall Caine

Print ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-7495-9

eBook ISBN 13: 978-1-4209-7662-5

This edition copyright © 2021. 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.

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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

Biographical Afterword

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"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 man and the world, and found nothing common and unclean.

HALL CAINE

1906.

NOTE TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustrations that appear in this edition originally appeared in the 1915 edition published in London by J. B. Lippincott Co. The color illustrations have been reproduced in grayscale for this paperback edition and in color for the eBook version.

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Reviews for A Christmas Carol

[bcrowl399 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read this book a few times. I always like to read it at Christmas.

[booknookretreat7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a classic Christmas story!

It has been a very long time since I read the book and I wish I had re-read it before now. I am sure everyone knows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, so I will not go into a long drawn out review. However, I will say this: it is better to be a giving spirit than to be a "scrooge" as having the spirit of Christmas makes you feel better as a person.

Loved this book once again and I will have to make it a Christmas tradition to read it every year from now on. Five "Christmas" stars!

[rosands-494665 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved the book. Wonderful story.

[nordie_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the best-loved and most quoted stories of “the man who invented Christmas”—English writer Charles Dickens—A Christmas Carol debuted in 1843 and has touched millions of hearts since.

Cruel miser Ebeneezer Scrooge has never met a shilling he doesn’t like...and hardly a man he does. And he hates Christmas most of all. When Scrooge is visited by his old partner, Jacob Marley, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come, he learns eternal lessons of charity, kindness, and goodwill.

Listened to as part of Craftlit podcast. This was actually 2010's Christmas book, but I've only got around to listening to it in full now. The book has pervaded so much of our definition of Christmas that it's actually good to go back to the original text and find out what was covered.

Heather, as an English Lit teacher, gives an excellent commentary over the various chapters and manages to give a little context around Dickens, how his upbringing could well have affected the writing of the book - eg Scrooge's attitude towards the poorhouse for instance, and why the Ghost throws it back in his face.

The Narrator (from Librivox I believe) was excellent and well suited to the story

[a.godhelm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For something that's had a thousand adaptations, the original holds up very well. Short and sweet and sentimental.

[kevn57-163679 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I reread a Christmas Carol with the holidays poised to start, for me the first thought of the holiday's always begins with the Macy's Parade. Anyway while reading I came to Negus and being unfamiliar with the word,I just had to look it up and found the following recipe.


from Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, originally published in 1861:

1835. INGREDIENTS - To every pint of port wine allow 1 quart of boiling water, 1/4 lb. of sugar, 1 lemon, grated nutmeg to taste

.Mode.—As this beverage is more usually drunk at children’s parties than at any other, the wine need not be very old or expensive for the purpose, a new fruity wine answering very well for it. Put the wine into a jug, rub some lumps of sugar(equal to 1/4 lb.) on the lemon-rind until all the yellow part of the skin is absorbed, then squeeze the juice, and strain it. Add the sugar and lemon-juice to the port wine, with the grated nutmeg;pour over it the boiling water, cover the jug, and, when the beverage has cooled a little, it will be fit for use. Negus may also be made of sherry, or any other sweet white wine, but is more usually made of port than of any other beverage.Sufficient—Allow 1 pint of wine, with the other ingredients in proportion, for a party of 9 or 10 children.

Kids most have had some wicked hangovers, wine always used to give me a splitting headache if drunk in quantity.

[stbyra · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent adaptation of the classic Christmas story

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

Great story and great narration! A Christmas Carol has been on my TBR list for more years than I can remember but I just never got around to it. I've seen various productions on TV or in movies but never read the actual story.

Audible gave away the version with Tim Curry doing the narration, last year I believe, but still I didn't listen. It took a good friend mentioning that she was listening to it yesterday to get me going. Well, that and the fact that I still need five books for my annual challenge and this was short.

I loved it. Tim Curry did a fantastic job and I even found myself tearing up three times. Yes, I'm PMSing but still...

[darthdeverell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charles Dickens’s 1843 novella A Christmas Carol tells the now-world famous story of three ghosts haunting elderly miser Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve in order to teach him the value of charity and helping his fellow men. The story captures many Victorian Christmas traditions, in particular the tradition of telling ghost stories. The success of this work led Dickens to return to Christmas-themed stories several times, including The Chimes in 1844, The Cricket on the Hearth in 1845, The Battle of Life in 1846, and The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain in 1848. The story further linked Christmas with humanitarianism, combining traditional celebrations with charity and reconciliation. To this day, Dickens’ examination of class consciousness and economic disparity remains significant and timely. This Barnes & Noble leatherbound edition features gilt-edged pages and John Leech’s original illustrations for the 1843 edition. The red leather and gilt pages resemble the first edition from 19 December 1843 while the block-printed designs on the cover convey the spirit, to use a pun, of the work. It makes for a lovely gift.

[lara335 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A charming story re-read on Christmas Eve. Bah Humbug Scrooge is visited by the Spirits of his past, present & possible future, then wakes in delight realising he isn’t dead but has more life to make amends and spread compassion & happiness.As relevant in these COVID times as it has always been .

[darcia_10 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A Christmas Carol is a classic that makes my eyes do that weird leaking thing every time.I loved listening to the story on audio. Simon Prebble does a masterful job on the narration. I was told a story; I experienced it.While this is a Christmas story, it's one whose message we should carry with us each day of the year.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What struck me was how playful the narrator is at the beginning of the story, engaging us when Scrooge is so unengaging, and being less obvious the more Scrooge takes up his own redemption, realizing to his own positive feelings first, then opening his eyes to others and then recoiling at the horror of what he's become to connect to good feelings. But there is the little narratorial glint in the final paragraph: "He had no further intercourse with Spirits, but lived upon the Total Abstinence Principle, ever afterward."

[kristykay22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I finished this book today and then found out that it was published on this day exactly back in 1843. A Christmas miracle! I really thought I had read this before, but I think I had only read a children's version and (of course) seen about a billion adaptations and parodies. Nothing is quite the same as Dickens, though. His pacing, his descriptiveness, and his humor just can't be beat. The final chapter where Scrooge is SO HAPPY to have a chance to turn his life around was just perfect and the three ghosts are truly chilling -- this could be a Halloween/Christmas crossover story for sure. If you haven't read the original before, pick it up this season -- it is a quick, comforting, and entertaining read.One of my bookclubs is reading Dickens' The Cricket on the Hearth for our next read, which is the third of his five Christmas novellas (A Christmas Carol is the first). I had no idea there were more! In honor of the Christmas season and my love for Dickens, I've decided to read all five, so stay tuned for more Christmasy reviews.

[tshrope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jim Dale reads this audio version of the Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol, and does a fantastic job of it! Dale is the master narrator of the Harry Potter books and brings all of his character skills and perfect inflections to this reading too. Don’t miss listening to this version; it’s better than reading it yourself, and almost as good as the Muppet movie version!

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If all the best qualities were taken from each of the various TV and film versions, and combined together, then that is roughly what we get in the original book. Scrooge’s sarcastic wit, miserliness, and meanness, the door-knocker turning into Marley’s face, the biting cold winter, the merriment of Fezziwig’s ball, Tiny Tim, the classic Christmas traditions, the fantastic spirits, and the ending we all know and love.As a short story of only 90 pages it works very well. Some of Dickens’s writings can be a bit over-detailed and redundant, however this is relatively compact for him, and achieves the impact, the atmosphere, and the character development that sometimes take him a lot longer in other works. Deserving of its central place in the Christmas season.

[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."

[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.

[teeana-179811 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just absolutely love this story. I love how it teaches you that anyone can change who they are as a person. Charles Dickens definitely shows that by his character Ebenezer Scrooge a grumpy lonely old man that cares about no one except himself and his money. The reality is money is just a thing you can't take it with you when you go so you might as well share your wealth. Ebenezer Scrooge definitely realizes that after his 3 visitors taught him that lesson. They taught him he would die alone with not a single care in the world. In the end Ebenezer Scrooge makes a 360° turn around and becomes a cheerful lovely old man that everyone could love. This is such a great classic story with such a great lesson for everyone.

[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.

[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.

[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

[margaretfield · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

so well crafted. great writing; great articulation of an idea

[soubhikiewiet · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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!

[saresmoore · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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!

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

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.

[birdo82 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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.

[lorisbook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The original that launched the many copies. After all the ones I've watched the first still holds up.

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully and vividly written. Read by Jim Dale!

[jjpciii_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A book which might be avoided by some readers because of the cliches that the text has generated. Any such bias should be overcome though. It is a witty engrossing read, with some enthralling passages, most notably in those parts where Dickens describes family and social scenes. It is also sensuous in some places, and is all the more rewarding for it.