The Man Who Invented Christmas (Movie Tie-In): Includes Charles Dickens’s Classic a Christmas Carol: How Charles Dickens’s a Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Note: this edition includes the full text of A Christmas Carol, which I have read so many times that I can quote it verbatim. If you have never read it, this book is the perfect edition for you. You’ll get the biographical information and the tale to which it refers all in one place.
So.
In mid-life, Charles Dickens was very concerned about his finances. So, he conceived of a Christmas tale that drew on his concerns about income inequality and the importance of charity. Having grown up very poor indeed (his father was in debtors’ prison twice), Dickens keenly felt the need to help the less fortunate.
This biography talks about the struggles of getting the book published (Dickens eventually published it himself), his personal life during the time, and how A Christmas Carol was the rising tide that helped float better sales of his subsequent serialized novels.
This is the book on which the popular film was based; highly recommended for those interested in both the literature and mores of the period.
Sharon E. Cathcart 