An Alternative Christmas Carol

By Robert Cubitt

When Charles Dickens wrote his morality tale, A Christmas Carol, he couldn't know about economic crises, Covid, fat cat bankers with seven figure bonuses or the selling off of state owned assets at knock down prices, so I've had to take his story of misanthropy and redemption and update it a little bit.

 

Ebenezer Smooge is a banker who worships money and luxuriates in the possessions that his wealth brings. He corrupts all he touches and will never do a good deed if a bad deed can be done. His hapless clerk Scratchit ekes out a living working long hours for poor wages while his wife Elisa makes end meet by supplementing her income with a bit of "curtain making" on the side, just so her twelve children will be fed.

 

As in the original, on Christmas Eve Ebenezer is visited first by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Harley, and then by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Heeding the messages of these three shades Smooge wakes up on Christmas morning and sets out to enjoy the day along with everyone else.

 

Does Smooge change his ways? Can a leopard change its spots? Read An Alternative Christmas Carol to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Selfishgenie Publishing
• Release date: Aug 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223716068

Robert Cubitt

Robert (Bob) Cubitt has always been keen on writing and has tried his hand at various projects over the years, but the need to earn a crust had always interfered with his desire to be more creative. After serving for 23 years in the RAF, working as a logistics planner for Royal Mail and as a Civil Servant with the Ministry of Defence, Robert took up writing full time writing in 2012 and now has a large catalogue of work published. Bob likes to write in several different genres, whatever takes his fancy at the time. His current series are sci-fi and World War II history and genres don't come much more diverse than that.  In his spare time Bob enjoys playing golf, is a member of a pub skittles team and is an ardent Northampton Saints fan.

Book preview

© 2015

Having purchased this book from Amazon, it is for your personal use only. It may not be copied, reproduced, printed or used in any way, other than in its intended Kindle format.

Published by Selfishgenie Publishing of, Northamptonshire, England.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. All the names characters, incidents, dialogue, events portrayed and opinions expressed in it are either purely the product of the author’s imagination or they are used entirely fictitiously and not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. Nothing is intended or should be interpreted as representing or expressing the views and policies of any department or agency of any government or other body.

All trademarks used are the property of their respective owners. All trademarks are recognised.

The right of Robert Cubitt to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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With profound apologies to one of the greatest writers who ever lived:

Charles Dickens

Christmas Eve - Some Time Ago

The bell jangled to let Scratchit know that someone had entered the Counting House. He glanced over the heaped ledgers on his desk and quickly looked down again, anxious to appear busy.

Scratchit. The new arrival shouted. You’ve been putting more coal on this fire, haven’t you?

Yes Mr Smooge. But it was so cold, and I only put one lump on.

"Be that as it may, I’ll be taking the cost of the coal out of your