Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (originally published in 1843, this edition was published in 2024 in Puffin Books)
Charles Dickens, an English writer, is considered by many to be the greatest writer of the Victorian era. He was very popular in his own time, and his books have been available in the in English, and in translations ever since. A Christmas Carol was first published in 1843 on December 19, and all copies were sold out on that exact day. By Christmas 1844, 13 editions had been published. Dickens also gave public readings of the novel, which were so successful that he had given a total of 127 readings by the time of his death in 1870.
Dickens’s own childhood experiences also influenced the writing of A Christmas Carol, and the novel captures the atmosphere of the Victorian Christmas, featuring typical traditions and foods. There are many adaptations of the story, so everyone is probably familiar with the miserable figure of Ebenezer Scrooge, who does not like Christmas, does not know mercy and generosity even on this day. However, on Christmas Eve, he suffers strange experience: he is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, and then by ghosts of the past, present and future. The ghosts give Scrooge the opportunity to change and thus redeem his own life. The story draws attention to generosity and the importance of family.
This edition was published in the Puffin Classics series, which aims to introduce younger readers to classic literature. The volume is complemented by interesting facts about the writer’s life, the story and the Victorian era, as well as an explanatory dictionary of Dickens. The illustrations are the works of Mark Peppé, and the beautiful cover was created by my favorite illustrator, Flavia Sorrentino.
