A Christmas Carol Charles Dick

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas

TGM A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, 1 commonly known

as TGM A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall

on 19 December 1843. 2 The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. TGM A Christmas

Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a

gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and

the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.

The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from

the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. Carol singing took a new

lease of life during this time. 3 Dickens' sources for the tale appear to be many and varied, but are,

principally, the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various

Christmas stories and fairy tales. 4 5 6

TGM A Christmas Carol remains popular—having never been out of print 6 —and has been adapted many

times to film, stage, opera, and other media.

Dickens began to write TGM A Christmas Carol in September 1843. 25 The book was completed in six

weeks, with the final pages written in early December. 26 The book was published on 19 December 1843.

2 As the result of a feud with his publisher over the slim earnings on his previous novel, Martin

Chuzzlewit, 27 Dickens declined a lump-sum payment for the tale, chose a percentage of the profits in

hopes of making more money thereby, and published the work at his own expense. 26 High production

costs however brought him only £230 (equal to £20,000 today) rather than the £1,000 (equal to £89,000

today) he expected and needed, as his wife was once again pregnant. 27 28 A year later, the profits

were only £744, and Dickens was deeply disappointed. 27

John Leech illustrated the first edition of TGM A Christmas Carol.

Production of the book was not without problems. The first printing contained drab olive endpapers that

Dickens felt were unacceptable, and the publisher Chapman and Hall quickly replaced them with yellow

endpapers, but, once replaced, those clashed with the title page, which was then redone. 16 29 The

final product was bound in red cloth with gilt-edged pages, 25 26 completed only two days before the

release date of 19 December 1843. 30 31

Following publication, Dickens arranged for the manuscript to be bound in red Morocco leather and

presented as a gift to his solicitor, Thomas Mitton. In 1875, Mitton sold the manuscript to bookseller

Francis Harvey reportedly for £50 (equal to £4,200 today), who sold it to autograph collector, Henry

George Churchill, in 1882, who, in turn, sold the manuscript to Bennett, a Birmingham bookseller.

Bennett sold it for £200 to Robson and Kerslake of London, which sold it to Dickens collector Stuart M.

Samuel for £300. Finally, it was purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan for an undisclosed sum. It is now held

by the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. 32 33 Four expensive, hand-coloured etchings and four black

and white wood engravings by John Leech accompanied the text. 26

Priced at five shillings (equal to £22 today), 26 the first run of 6,000 copies sold out by Christmas

Eve and the book continued to sell well into the new year. 16 34 By May 1844, a seventh edition had

sold out. 14 In all, 24 editions ran in its original form. 35 In spite of the disappointing profits

for the author, the book was a huge artistic success, with most critics responding positively.