I first came to know Scrooge, the Cratchits, and the spirits through film, specifically the Muppets version. Can you beat Gonzo as Charles Dickens? I honestly don’t think you can. Then, of course, I was assigned Charles Dickens in middle school, so I read “A Christmas Carol”. As ghost-heavy Christmas stories go, it’s pretty good. But my favorite thing about “A Christmas Carol” is the annual reading.
Charles Dickens, a nineteenth-century English writer, penned his Christmas classic in 1842 as, weirdly enough, a response to the deplorable working conditions in factories, especially the impact the conditions had on children and the poor. Conditions he was well aware of, having worked in a factory since the age of 12. His morality tale was intended to make people consider the well-being of those around them and how their actions affected others. It’s a great life lesson, but it never hurts to up the drama with a handful of ghosts. Not for nothing is Charles Dickens considered a creative genius.
His novella soon became all the rage, and Charles Dickens began making public appearances to read his work to a live audience, taking on different voices and facial expressions for each character. I had the pleasure of hearing Mr. Dickens – I’m just kidding. I’m not THAT old. I did, however, have the pleasure of seeing his personal copy of “A Christmas Carol” when I visited the New York Public Library. The NYPL is a bibliophile’s dream, more a museum than a place you go to check out books or use the computer. Plus, Ghostbusters was filmed there, so that’s pretty cool. Anyway, they have on display Dickens’ writing desk, his cat paw letter opener – it’s creepy. I bought a replica – and his notated copy of his classic. Little notes, including the perfect time to pause for a bathroom break, stains that I suspect are coffee but could very well be bourbon – he was known to have a drink before taking the stage – mark the pages.
Though Dickens has long since left us, his work lives on, as has the tradition of reading “A Christmas Carol”. You can listen to a recording of Neil Gaiman, another English author, read from Dickens’ very own copy. I have heard Neil Gaiman do a reading twice and had a conversation with him once – conversation is a stretch. We chatted about my very talented friend Shannon while he drew a picture in my copy of one of his books – and, with a voice like his, I would pay money to listen to him read a grocery list. So, this holiday season, take some time for yourself and listen to a Brit read a book. You won’t regret it.
Source: Written by Ryanne Harper in the November 2023 edition of Seed & Sow Magazine.