A Christmas Carol Author:Charles Dickens

(1843)Illustrated by George Alfred Williams"I have endeavoured, in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it."--Their faithful Friend and Servant, C. D. December 1843. In this book of excitement the main character, Scrooge, who is a complete grouch (especially at Christmas) is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner who is there to warn him. The Ghost tells him that he will be visited by three more ghosts. And they take him on a journey through Christmas Past, Present, and Future to see the ups of Christmas and the downs of the way he is living to try to save him and many others from himself, and his huge Bah Humbug Attitude. This book is an eye opener and a sensation.--Submitted by N.L.H. Dickens sets his novella in this the Christmas period to show the true meaning of sharing, giving and receiving. Through his representation of Scrooge, Dickens wants the reader to learn from his miserable personality and to encourage others to change their ways too. It seems that the reason why he wanted to do this was because the rich didn’t appreciate the poor; during the Industrial Revolution the gap widened between the rich and the poor – the poor being forgotten. This is why Scrooge then was visited by three different ghosts: the past, present and future. These ghosts highlight the need for Scrooge to change and value the poor and recognise their needs.--Submitted by Jessica Hennell