IH - A Christmas Carol

IH - A Christmas Carol

Who was Charles Dickens?

• Charles Dickens was a famous English author, whose books were very modern for their time.

• Some of his work include: "Oliver Twist", "David Copperfield", "Great Expectations", "The Tale of Two Cities" and many more.

• He had 10 children. There are about 60 direct descendants that are alive today.

Facts about the book

"A Christmas Carol" was written by Charles Dickens and it was published in 1843. 177 years after its publication, this book is extremely popular around the holidays.

In the hundred years after its publication, the book sold more than 2 million copies.

What is the novella about?

"A Christmas Carol" is the universal story of Christmas: a tale of the triumph of compassion over mean-spiritedness, humanity over injustice and poverty. Charles Dickens could write it because he had been there. His father was a chronic debtor, and Dickens himself experienced extreme poverty as a child. Today's world of global inequality and conflict would be all too familiar to him.

1

Ebeneezer Scrooge is a miserly old man who believes that Christmas is just an excuse for people to miss work and for idle people to expect handouts.

That night, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley - a man who was as greedy and cold as Scrooge is.

2

Marley warns Scrooge that if he continues to live life so selfishly, he will spend eternity wearing the chains that his greed has built.

Three ghosts visit Scrooge one by one: the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future.

3

The ghosts show Scrooge his error in valuing money over people. Scrooge is frightened by the bleak picture of his life and promises to change his ways.

Scrooge awakes on Christmas morning a new man. He becomes jolly and charitable, and truly turns into the man he promised the ghosts he would become. He carries the spirit of Christmas with him all year round.