Charles Dickens is widely regarded as the greatest writer of the Victorian era, and he certainly came up with some enduring fictional characters. As an aside, I recall the menu at the Outside Inn bistro in my home town as being a rich source of these: I used to get the Bill Sykes burger (smothered in chilli) but there was also a Mr Micawber, a Tiny Tim (served with salad rather than chips), a Treble Bumble and so on. Everyone has seen the 1974 film version of Oliver Twist on numerous occasions of course, but it’s remarkable just how often Dickens’ novels have been made into films; David Copperfield, for example, has been filmed eight times (in 1911, 1913, 1922, 1935, 1969, 1993, 1999 and 2000). Similarly, there are six film versions each of Great Expectations, The Old Curiosity Shop and A Tale of Two Cities.
When it comes to A Christmas Carol, however, its enduring popularity hits the stratosphere: there are no less than thirteen ‘straight’ film versions (as in, named A Christmas Carol), as well as six or seven more featuring the name ‘Scrooge’ in some form or another, and numerous spin-off and parody versions from the Smurfs to the Muppets (the latter is surprisingly excellent, incidentally). It is therefore highly unlikely that you will need the following synopsis; nonetheless, for the sake of newly-arrived extra-terrestrial readers of this blog: A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period when the country was exploring and re-evaluating its past Christmas traditions, including carols and newer customs such as Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by other writers including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. He was particularly inspired by a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London’s street children. The treatment of the poor and the ability of a selfish man to redeem himself by transforming into a more sympathetic character are of course the key themes of the story.
Published on 19 December 1843, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve, and it has never been out of print since. Dickens even began performing public recitations of the story at various venues throughout London, which proved to be a big hit with the public. The novella thus captured the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday and helped create the archetypes that were handed down to later generations, like family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.
Here is a nice montage from the 1951 film, Scrooge, featuring Alistair Sim (making a second appearance in this blog; see An Inspector Calls) as Ebenezer Scrooge. Rather than the curmudgeon, let’s see the redeemed Scrooge as the Christmas spirit finally takes hold within him. Sim captures the pathos masterfully: prepare for a warm feeling!
To all my readers, Merry Christmas!
