A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I'm not sure what I can say about my reread of A Christmas Carol that hasn't already been said a million times in a million different ways.

A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 and it has never been out of print since. And there's a very good reason for that.
This novella is full of scary ghosts, the warm glow of redemption and a sweet-natured child to tug at our heart strings. All the ingredients for a good family story!

Dickens weaves Christian themes & social justice concerns into a tale that celebrates traditions, family, kindness & charity. Universal themes that still resonant down through the ages.

Thanks to Nancy's in depth, detailed review, I was on the look out for window motifs and bells. I also spotted many of Dicken's own personal themes shining through this story - the innocence of childhood, the horror of poverty & the almost saccharine sweet image of a family happily gathered around a blazing hearth.

Ultimately, A Christmas Carol reminds us that it is never too late to change, it's never too late to give & love, it's never too late to be kind & forgiving and it's never too late to laugh.

And thanks to all the love out there in twitter and blogger land I plan to watch The Muppets Christmas Carol special this year too!

It turns out I'm a 'Merry Christmas, bless you one and all' type after all :-)

Scrooged - the Movie

In preparation for rereading A Christmas Carol I thought I'd like to see a couple of movie adaptations as well. Somehow I've managed to reach my mid-40's without ever seeing one!

Last night we watch Scrooged (1988) starring Bill Murray.

Scrooged portrays a modern day Scrooge as a young, successful but ruthless TV executive.
Made in the "greed is good" 80's, many of the movie trailers started with "now more than ever, we need this story..."

But sadly everything about this movie is now dated - the hair! the high waisted jeans! the basic graphics and special effects!

Bill Murray was very OTT the whole way through the movie - obviously the director was unable to reign him in on this movie. And the movie sufffered for this excessive over-acting.
It may have been "side-splittingly" funny in 1988, but now it was barely amusing.

However the message of family, goodwill & charity that is A Christmas Carol still managed to shine though.

Today I started reading the book.

My Folio Society edition has lovely large font, thick paper and lots of illustrations. But I'd forgotten how quickly one can read this story.

In an attempt to honour the process a little more though, I've slowed my reading right down.

For now I will leave with Marley's chain-linked Ghost...

"It is required of every man," the Ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world - oh, woe is me! - and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!"

A Christmas Carol Readalong

I've succumbed.

I wasn't going to commit to anything else between now and Christmas. But I really wanted to reread Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol this year....so I've decided to host the most low-key, easy, no-fuss readalong ever.

The hardest part has been making the badge...and I've just realised I forgot to add my blog addresss to it - do'h!

If you'd like to join me in reading or rereading A Christmas Carol simply say 'hi' in the comments below & spread the word.

Copy my badge, post on twitter or Instagram using #achristmascarol, share on facebook, goodreads or your own blogs. As much or as little as you like.

During the readalong stop by and let us know how you're progressing.
Tweet your favourite quotes, show us a picture of your particular edition, tell us how many times you've read A Christmas Carol over the years.
Why do you love it so much?
Which movie version do you prefer?
Have you seen a stage show or pantomine of A Christmas Carol?

Are you a Bah! Humbug! at Christmas or a "God bless us one and all!" type?

Maybe you'd like to tell us about your best (or worst) Christmas past.
What do you plan to do for your Christmas Present?
Tell us your hopes for the Christmas Yet To Come.

Or simply readalong knowing that folks all around the world are experiencing the same wonderful story at the same time as you!

I will be reading my lovely 2007 (second reprint) Folio Society edition.

Although I first read A Christmas Carol sometime in my 20's, I have not read this particular edition yet. The illustrations & colour plates by Foreman look delightful.

I'm looking forward to diving back into Dickensian London and finding the spirit (and/or ghost) of Christmas.

I hope you can join me in this adventure.
#achristmascarol

PS I have left Mr Linky open until New Year's Eve to give everyone plenty of time to write reviews over the festive season.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

During my early 20's I read several Dickens and loved them in a melancholy kind of way.

They were such big, epic reads about the trials and trubulations of nineteenth century England & France that I've found it hard since then to justify the time to read something that would ultimately make me feel blue!

On joining the Classics Club though, I couldn't help but notice the amount of love, love, love floating around for Bleak House. I wanted to have a Dickens on my list that wouldn't be a wrist-slitter and Bleak House seemed like the logical choice.

I'm so glad I did.

Bleak House is the complete opposite of it's name. With it's huge cast of memorable, likeable characters, Bleak House is a glorious read from start to finish.

There were times that I felt an editor might have been a good thing to have around. But Dickens wrote most of his work, one chapter at a time, as a serial for the newspapers. Each chapter was designed to stand alone, be a certain length and to leave the reader wanting more. (Bleak House was serialised from March 1852 to September 1853.)

Initially I thought that Bleak House was going to be a Jane Eyre type story with orphan Esther's sad, bleak upbringing and removal to boarding school. But there were soon so many characters, seemingly unconnected that I lost all ideas of where I thought the story might be heading!

Was it a courtroom, legal drama?

Was it a family dynasty saga?

Was it a murder mystery full of betrayal and lies?

Was it a social commentary on the life and times of Dickens?

Was it an epic tale about love, kindness and tolerance across ages, genders and classes?

In the end, it was all of these things and more.

One of the wonderful things about Dickens is his ability to wrap up the story and tie off all the loose ends.

Not everyone gets to live happily ever after in Bleak House, but Dickens gives us a final chapter or two where we discover the fate of all the people we've come to know so well.
It's very satisfying to have such a complete picture of their lives.

For anyone a little shy of reading Dickens for fear of it being too heavy, or too bleak or too Dickensian, then Bleak House is the one to try.

My edition of Bleak House had copies of the original etchings by Phiz (Hablot Knight Browne).

Phiz worked closely with Dickens for over 20 years. The illustrations usually focused on the humorous elements of each chapter. If you payed close attention to the background detail it was possible to find extra elements that enhanced the story.

I saved that little snippet of information for last, because if you're like me, you have now disappeared from view, to hunt out your edition of Bleak House to scan all the illustrations once more!!

Happy Reading

Happy Birthday Charles

1. Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.

2. NOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. 
            
3. London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth . . .

4. Night is generally my time for walking.
    

5. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .

6. In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in. 

7. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.
 
8. Marley was dead, to begin with.

9. My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.

10. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse . . .