Product Description

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly old skinflint. He hates everyone, especially children. But at Christmas three ghosts come to visit him, scare him into mending his ways, and he finds, as he celebrates with Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and their family, that geniality brings its own reward.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #731 in Books
• Published on: 1993-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Customer Reviews

great classic novel, but difficult to read, especially for children
The review below is slightly misleading as this particular version is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED.
I would recommend reading a simplified version first, if you are not familiar with the story. Then have a dictionary to hand as you read this one!
The classic story is timeless, and one of Charles Dickens' most well known tales. As with many of his stories, the pictures he conjures up are rooted in his own experience of life in Victorian Britain, with it's great contrast between rich and poor.

The original Christmas message
Upon learning that A Christmas Carol had won a place in the BBC's Big Read extravaganza, it occurred to me that I had never actually read it. Of course, there have been many film adaptations over the years, and Amazon currently has more than thirty different versions of the book available, so it must have something going for it. Let me assure you, it does. The message behind the story is simple, and I believe that is a large contributing factor to its continued success. Although it was first published in 1843, to this day it remains as significant as when Dickens first allowed the public to feast their eyes upon it.

Ebenezer Scrooge is the central character - a lonely old miser of a man, he keeps all of his money locked away, and allows neither himself nor his impoverished relatives to enjoy it. Returning to his chilly home on Christmas eve, he is rather alarmed to find his once-business partner Jacob Marley waiting for him. This is hardly surprising, since Marley has been dead for seven years. Scrooge is warned that unless he changes his miserable ways, he will spend the afterlife repenting. The exchange between the two is followed by a lengthy night, in which three spirits - the ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas yet to come, visit Ebenezer.

Although A Christmas Carol is largely aimed at children aged ten and above, many adults can (and have) enjoyed the wealth of description Dickens packs into the novel. The depiction of the streets of nineteenth century London and its architecture is a treat. Also, the way in which the author uses imagery to convey the difference between Scrooge's desolate existence, and the tenderness he could be experiencing had he any kind feeling in his heart towards his family. "... along the streets, the brightness of the roaring fires in kitchens, parlours, and all sorts of rooms, was wonderful. Here, the flickering of the blaze showed preparations for a cosy dinner, with hot plates baking through and through before the fire, and deep red curtains, ready to be drawn, to shut out cold and darkness."

I would recommend any reader wishing to locate a copy of the book look for one with explanations about words used in the story that are no longer (or rarely) in use. 'Negus' for instance, was a word used in the story, and I was not aware that it was "wine and hot water sweetened with lemon and spice" until I consulted the footnotes in the superb Penguin Classics edition. Similarly, 'twelfth-cakes' being "large, rich cakes, frosted and decorated with icing sugar figures, made to be eaten on Twelfth Night."

Any reader who has enjoyed this splendid, eerie treat may also enjoy Dickens' other Christmas writings (of which there are many). "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Haunted Man" and "The Chimes" are all fine examples of the author's other festive tales. A Christmas Carol will be around for a long time, indeed, it has already and with good reason. It is only a short story, and can be read in an hour or two. I urge you to read it, it really is a delight.

Evoking the true spirit of Christmas since 1843
Aside from the Bible, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is probably the most familiar and well-known book ever published. Scores of film adaptations have been made over the years, taking Dickens' story of one man's redemption to all the corners of the globe. The name Ebenezer Scrooge immediately brings to mind the miserly curmudgeon whose life and very nature were radically changed after the visitation of four ghosts one early Christmas morning. Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former partner, returns in spirit form to warn Scrooge of the ponderous chain he is forging in life by his penny-pinching, selfish, Christmas-hating ways. Then, of course, the ghosts of Christmas past, Christmas present, and Christmas future come to call for an increasingly troubled soul who comes to see the worthlessness of his purely materialistic life. A Christmas Carol offers a truly amazing character study. Scrooge, this seemingly incorrigible fellow, quickly becomes a sympathetic character as we view the circumstances of his life. From a lonely boy rejected by his father (who blames him for the death of his wife in childbirth), we see a sensitive soul, one quite capable of feeling and expressing both happiness and love, grow greedy and cold, shutting even the woman he loves out of his life. Completely broken down by the scenes revealed by the ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge's transformation is remarkably real and powerful.

Little need be said about this timeless classic, as it is a story virtually everyone knows in some detail. The message is clear to all of us, as well. Dickens, the social conscience of the 19th century, illustrates the humanity and worth of even the lowliest of society's members and casts the harsh light of truth on those with the means but not the desire to help their fellow man, giving new life to the cliché "you can't take it with you." Dickens briefly alludes to the religious aspects of the holiday, but he vividly evokes the true and rightful spirit of Christmas in humanistic terms. This is a timeless story that will forever be a part of each Christmas season. Not only does it impart lessons of the highest order, it never fails to charm and delight you no matter how many times you have previously read the story (and watched the movie adaptations) over the years.