A Christmas Carol
and Other Christmas Writings
by Charles Dickens
Introduction and notes by Katherine Kroeber Wiley
It’s a tale as old as time… if we started counting about 175 years ago. Seriously, I couldn’t believe it when I looked it up. A Christmas Carol was published in 1843. Isn’t that nuts? Even I thought it was around the late 1800s, like around the Jack the Ripper times. It’s a great story, anyway. One that’s withstood the test of… time?
Everyone has their favorite iteration of this story. I know the right answer is the Muppet Christmas Carol which managed to make the story heartfelt and funny, but my favorite is actually the Mickey Mouse Christmas Carol. I remember being at home on Christmas eve, a wee lad, and being overjoyed when this randomly came on the TV as I was flipping channels. And it’ a cool 22 minutes! I’ve loved it ever since, and I make sure it’s my kids’ favorite as well.
Of course, when you love something, you sometimes want to go to the source, and what better time for this book (novella), than X-mas-time. What really helped put both Dickens and the book into perspective was the wonderful introduction by Katherine Kroeber Wiley. She interprets the book through life in Victorian England, then takes you through Dickens’ thought process and how his life informed the decisions his characters make.
The story, of course, is heartwarming and sweet, and still engaging. In the book Scrooge is a much more interesting character than I’ve seen him portrayed. First of all, he’s witty and quick and has surprisingly good comedic timing. Also, he’s smart and scientific, logically in disbelief when the idea of ghosts are presented to him, but showing no hesitation to play along when he’s got the evidence he needs to know he’s not imagining things. Is he, though? Maybe THAT’S the mystery of it all. I didn’t read the rest of the books in this collection and I don’t think anyone else will either, but maybe I will later this year! So move aside, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas! THIS is the book we should be reading all huddled up together on Christmas Eve. All you need is a warm cup of tea and several hours to spare.
