Elegantly written, in pure Dickensian style, these short stories evoke the magic of Christmas and its true meaning, so much so they are able to enlighten the hardest of the hearts. Dickens uses some beautiful turns of a phrase, and he clearly incorporates an intimate understanding of Victorian poverty as well as more comfortable situations.
These writings, traditionally bundled with "A Christmas Carol" but published separately in Dickens's lifetime, paint a Christmas picture of the Victorian era with joy, sorrow, nostalgia and dread. Dickens is particularly skilled at seeing the darkness of human pain and suffering beneath the holiday trappings. Descriptions that are his signature style, plus his usual insight into foibles of people and the ills of society. Plenty of reasons to read again!
Contents
A Christmas tree — What Christmas is as we grow older — The poor relation's story — The child's story — The schoolboy's story — Nobody's story.