No feeling-it is nothing but glittering frostwork. Twain’s review of the now-iconic book? “There is no heart. Credited as the first writer to do reading tours of his work, Dickens read A Christmas Carol to American audiences during his second visit to the U.S. Listen to an excerpt from the chamber opera here.ĭid you know … While A Christmas Carol was received favorably by many of Dicken’s author peers, a 32-year-old Mark Twain was not a fan. You can see a digital copy of the manuscript on the Morgan Library and Museum website.ĭid you know… The Internet Movie Database lists more than 100 versions of A Christmas Carol, including a video game, a 1908 short starring Tom Ricketts (an English actor who also reportedly directed the first movie ever shot in Hollywood), and the 2015 TV-movie A Christmas Carol and Zombies.ĭid you know… There are more than 20 TV shows that have used Dickens’ classic as fodder for episodes, including Sanford and Son, The Six Million Dollar Man, Family Ties, Suite Life on Deck, The Jetsons, and Duck Tales.ĭid you know… There are two ballet and four opera versions of A Christmas Carol, including The Passion of Scrooge, a chamber opera for one baritone and chamber orchestra. ![]() As Dickens’ biographer Michael Slater described, the author thought of A Christmas Carol as a way to, “help open the hearts of the prosperous and powerful towards the poor and powerless…."ĭid you know… Upon publishing the first edition of A Christmas Carol, Dickens had his 66-page heavily revised handwritten manuscript bound in crimson leather and decorated in gilt before gifting it to his friend-and creditor-Thomas Mitton, whose name was also inscribed on the cover in gilt. Dickens had a lifelong devotion to helping the underserved due to his own family’s experiences with debtors prison, which forced him to drop out of school as a boy and work at a factory. Though it was a runaway best seller, Dickens was very fastidious about the endpapers and how the book was bound, and the price of materials took a big chunk out of his potential profits.ĭid you know… Like many of Dickens’ other works, A Christmas Carol was written as a work of social commentary. By 1844, the novella had gone through 13 printings and continues to be a robust seller more than 175 years later.ĭid you know… Dickens didn't make very much money from early editions of A Christmas Carol. Reportedly Dickens wrote the story while taking hours-long nighttime walks around London.ĭid you know… A Christmas Carol was first published on December 19, 1843, with the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.ĭid you know… Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in just six weeks, under financial pressure. ![]() The novella’s full title is A Christmas Carol. In the spirit of the season, here are 10 things you may not know about the Christmas classic, including its original title, what happened to the original handwritten draft, and a rather famous American author who was not at all a fan.ĭid you know… A Christmas Carol was just one of several Christmas-themed stories written by Charles Dickens. It was such an immediate hit, that barely a month after its debut, Dickens was embroiled in a legal fight against a publishing company that had printed pirated copies. Though he spent mere weeks writing it, Dickens' novella about the original Christmas grinch has been a holiday staple for nearly two centuries, giving rise to countless adaptations for stage and screen. "Marley was dead, to begin with." With those six words, Charles Dickens invited us into the world of A Christmas Carol, indelibly introducing us to Ebenezer Scrooge, the three ghosts of Christmas, Tiny Tim, and a full cast of memorable characters. Fezziwig’s Ball, Hand colored etching by John Leech from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, via Wikimedia Commons An unmissable Christmas treat that is perfect for the family.Mr. Overall, I have been watching this every Christmas season because I feel it fits perfectly for such a time of the year. ![]() Although I'm aware there are those who aren't fond of the visuals, at least the characters don't look as creepy as those seen in Zemeckis' previous animated work 'The Polar Express'. Ultimately, the visuals were astounding, particularly of how the motion capture makes the characters more human than previously seen in animation. A Christmas Carol note full title: A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is a novella written by Charles Dickens and first published. These superb leads receive Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins and Robin Wright as perfect supporting roles. With some superb multi roles from Jim Carrey, who is Scrooge and the 3 ghosts of Christmas, whereas Gary Oldman is Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim. It may not be the most iconic or essential Chrismas movie, however, it definitely one of the better adaptations of Charles Dickens classic, as well as being a personal favourite. While Christmas is a lovely time to watch films that suit that time of the year, I feel that Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas Carol shouldn't be missed.
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