A fan of Charles Dickens I am not.
In fairness to me, I have tried to like him, I really have, but having to read “Great Expectations” is cruel and unusual punishment to inflict upon any student over the summer. It is a boring book, and the ending is not remotely satisfactory. Yep, it’s terrible.
My one caveat to Dicken’s hating is “A Christmas Carol.”
The holiday tale was first published on December 19, 1843, in London by the publishing house Chapman and Hall. The first edition of the book had a print run of 6,000 copies and was sold out by Christmas Eve. By the end of 1844, thirteen editions of Dicken’s holiday classic were released.
The book has never been out of print and has been translated into several languages for the delight of billions around the world.
As is the case with most successful books, “A Christmas Carol” has had several runs at the big screen, with famous actors like Michael Cain, George C. Scott, and even Bill Murray all giving their own versions of the grumpy Ebenezer Scrooge.
When it comes to movie adaptations, I have to go old school and give my top three versions to “Mickey’s Christmas Carol,” “The Muppet’s Christmas Carol,” and Jim Carrey’s “A Christmas Carol.”
It’s no secret we love all mysterious and spooky things in the Monica household, so my kids really enjoy Carrey’s performance.
As a kid I loved Mickey’s version but, my goodness was Pete scary playing the character of the Ghost of Christmas Future! I always wondered if it was necessary for him to be that scary. Of course, if he hadn’t been, would I have liked it as much?
For having such a mega hit on his hands, Dickens did not see the kind of fortune from his famous tale an author might see today. He was paid significantly less than he had expected as book sales were not enough to make up for production cost, much of which was driven up but the author’s own last-minute editing suggestions.
He began work on the story in October of 1843, pushing himself with dogged determination to finish his manuscript before Christmas. Dickens was struggling financially with a fifth child on the way when he began work on his most famous book.
Ultimately it took Dickens just six weeks to write “A Christmas Carol,” a whopping 30,000 words of pure holiday magic.
The author drew inspiration from his own family for many of the story’s beloved characters, including Tiny Tim, who was fashioned after Dicken’s ill younger brother, the family called Tiny Fred. Another source for the beloved character was Dicken’s young disabled nephew Henry Burnett Jr.
He also devoted time to visiting poor houses and getting to know the people who inspired his characters.
Far from proving to be the financial windfall Dicken’s had hoped, his story still reminds generation after generation of the magic of keeping Christmas joy in one’s heart all year round!