10 Festive Ways to Enjoy “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens
Image from The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017); courtesy of Elevation Pictures; image from MovieStillsDB.com.
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In 1843, British author Charles Dickens spent several weeks writing the “ghostly little book” that would shortly become his most beloved work.
Nearly 180 years later, A Christmas Carol shows no sign of losing its perennial popularity, with countless new versions and tributes emerging every year.
For fans of Dickens, Scrooge, and Tiny Tim, here are 10 festive ways to enjoy this Yuletide favorite!
1. Read the original.
Why not start the season off by kicking back with the entire text of A Christmas Carol as Dickens himself styled it so many Christmases ago? If you’ve never actually sampled this dazzling novel, you’ll be surprised how much is omitted from the various stage and screen versions. I read it every December and always notice something new.
2. Learn more about the author.
A portrait of Charles Dickens from the Welsh Portrait Collection at the National Library of Wales; image from Wikimedia Commons; {{PD-US}}.
Among many books and bios on “The Great Inimitable,” a good starting point might be Jane Smiley’s Charles Dickens (2002)—a trim, handsome and readable entry in the excellent Penguin Lives series.
Folks seeking more should grab Peter Ackroyd’s massive and magisterial 1990 tome simply titled Dickens—one of the finest biographies I’ve ever read.
Also worthwhile: The Friendly Dickens by Norrie Epstein. Published in 1998, it’s a delightfully breezy compendium of Dickens trivia—crammed with photos, artwork, excerpts, summaries, anecdotes, factoids, lists and biographical tidbits. A must for Dickens fans old and new.
3. Learn more about the book.
For the Carol buffs on your Christmas shopping list, consider 2004’s gorgeous and authoritative The Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose.
Carefully compiled by scholar Michael Patrick Hearn, this majestic tribute offers the complete text of Dickens’s novel, along with copious footnotes, drawings, essays and photos covering all the explanatory background you could want on every detail in the story.
The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017); courtesy of Elevation Pictures; image from MovieStillsDB.com.
Also worthwhile are a number of well-researched but somewhat fictionalized accounts of how Dickens wrote his Victorian bestseller. Most recent among these is the delightful 2017 movie The Man Who Invented Christmas, with Downton Abbey’s dashing Dan Stevens playing Dickens as he struggles to complete his book in time for Christmas while various characters come to life and argue about his plot. The late, great Christopher Plummer, still stealing scenes at age 87, plays Scrooge. Click on the following links to view on Amazon Prime or YouTube.
At the bookstore, look for Samantha Silva’s entertaining 2017 novel Mr. Dickens and His Carol: A Novel. Despite wholesale fabrications—which the author readily admits—the novel shows considerable expertise on Dickens and his world. Its lovely twist ending was ruined for me by some online blurbs, so steer clear of those and let this charmer do its own work.
Less fanciful but likewise enjoyable is Patricia K. Davis’s A Midnight Carol: A Novel of How Charles Dickens Saved Christmas (1999).
4. Enjoy the fan fiction.
Several decent adjunct novels pay tribute in the form of prequels, sequels, or parallel retellings.
These include Marley’s Ghost (Mark H. Ozmun, 2000), Mr. Timothy (Louis Bayard, 2003), Jacob T. Marley (William Bennett, 2014), The Last Christmas of Ebenezer Scrooge: The Sequel to a Christmas Carol (Marvin Kaye, 2005) and Miss Marley: A Seasonal Tale of Kindness and Goodwill by Vanessa Lafaye.
Surely the best is Charlie Lovett’s enchanting Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Continued (2016). As the joyously reformed old man works again with all three spirits to reclaim several struggling friends, it evokes Dickens on every page—yet never feels like a slavish imitation.
5. Watch a good film version.
By some counts, more than 40 full-length features—both animated and live-action—have been adapted from Dickens’s book. And that’s not including countless TV versions on such shows as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, The Odd Couple, Bugs Bunny, Gumby, Thomas the Tank Engine, and even The Six Million Dollar Man—among others.
A Christmas Carol; image courtesy of Renown Pictures, from MovieStillsDB.com.
Most Carol fans favor the beloved black-and-white classic from 1951, with an amazing Alastair Sim as Scrooge; in addition to its flawless finale, this version features some embellishments that even Dickens himself might’ve admired—particularly its details on the death of Scrooge’s sister, Fan.
Other worthy versions:
Scrooge; image courtesy of National General Pictures, from MovieStillsDB.com.
Albert Finney, 1970 (entitled Scrooge); an entertaining musical with strong production values
George C. Scott, 1984; excellent work by Oscar-winner Scott, especially after Scrooge’s reformation
The Muppets, 1991 (entitled The Muppet Christmas Carol); hilarious and tuneful—with quite a surprising emotional undertow
Patrick Stewart, 1999; exceptionally faithful to the text; Richard E. Grant is terrific as Cratchit
Jim Carrey, 2009 (entitled Disney’s a Christmas Carol); delicious animated romp from stop-motion master Robert Zemeckis
A Christmas Carol; image courtesy of 20th Television, from MovieStillsDB.com.
But please avoid the Bill Murray “Scrooged” (1988) and the recent Guy Pearce debacle from 2019—both are mean-spirited and depressing.
For more detail on film versions (along with links), check out “Ghosts of ‘A Christmas Carol’ Past and Future: 10 Worthy Versions of Dickens’s Holiday Classic.”
6. Find a local stage production.
John Leech (1817-1864); Scrooge's third visitor, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol; image from Wikimedia Commons; {{PD-US}}.
No matter where you live, you can probably catch a live theatrical production of A Christmas Carol nearby—if not professional, then perhaps community theater, or even some staging at a local school or church.
Once on winter vacation in Florida, my wife and I caught a vigorous local production with a mere six actors covering all the many parts. I’ve also seen two with casts consisting entirely of kids, and another where the Ghost of Christmas Present was truly a giant—a moving stage-prop easily 12 feet tall!
7. Listen to Patrick Stewart’s audiobook.
In 1987, Sir Patrick did the Carol as a one-man show in London and on Broadway—playing 30 different characters! The audiobook captures that performance in all its glory and remains my favorite among countless audio versions (Ronald Colman, Lionel Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Alec Guinness, Jonathan Winters, Tim Curry—and many others).
8. Dig up Ed Sweeney’s musical tribute.
Filed under various titles—A Dickens’ Christmas, The Spirit of Christmas Past, and/or Inside Fezziwig’s—Ed Sweeney’s captivating collection of carols can be tough to find; but it’s worth the effort!
Along with several familiar faves, its many tasty titles include “Sussex Carol,” “Gloucestershire Wassail,” “Bring a Torch,” “Planxty Irwin,” and, of course, “Sir Roger de Coverley.” (The latter is specifically named in the novel—during Fezziwig’s neighborhood ball in Stave Three.)
Performed on such Victorian-era instruments as banjo, dulcimer, fiddle, spoons, oboe, and concertina, this CD makes an enchanting soundtrack for holiday celebrations—or just a quiet winter afternoon reading by the tree.
Several music services carry this album, and a full version is currently available on YouTube as well.
9. Grab the graphic novel.
Adapted by Sean Michael Wilson, the robust 2008 comic-style version serves as a fine intro for reluctant young readers. In contrast to other graphic-novel adapters of Carol, Wilson preserves huge chunks of Dickens’s delicious prose—and the artwork is just dandy.
10. Go see Dickens’s great-great-grandson.
Live readings of the classic novel originated with the author himself, who often performed the entire story on tours throughout Britain and America. In recent years, the writer’s great-great-grandson, Gerald Charles Dickens, has re-created these one-man performances, also taking it around both countries. Only a few dates remain in his tour this season, but a recording of the performance can be rented at his website; and keep an eye out for the 2022 tour as well!
William Powell Frith (1819-1909): Charles Dickens in his Study; image from Wikimedia Commons; {{PD-US}}.
When I saw his performance in Central Pennsylvania some years ago, I caught the actor just before showtime and asked if he had a favorite film version. He suggested that his great-great-grandparent would have liked the one with Jim Carrey—because it was so frightening!
In any case, it was worth the price of admission just to tell him afterward, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Dickens.”
Merry Christmas, indeed.
This article was originally published on December 7, 2021.
