A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol is a fictional short story written by Charles Dickens. First published on December 17, 1843, the book was an instant success. Thousands of copies were sold within weeks. Originally written as a potboiler to enable Dickens to pay off a debt, this story has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time.

Plot synopsis (Spoiler warning)

The story is a Victorian morality tale of an old and bitter miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Marley, who in life was as miserly as Scrooge, is condemned to carry heavy chains throughout eternity because of his ruthlessness. Marley is visiting to layout his plan to save Scrooge from the same fate. Scrooge is skeptical of what he has seen and heard, but during the course of the night, he is visited by the spirits of "Christmas Past", "Christmas Present" and "Christmas Yet to Come". The ghosts show Scrooge scenes from his life (past, present and future) that open his eyes and make him realize that he desperately needs love and forgiveness from his fellow men. In the end, Scrooge changes his life and reverts to the generous, kind-hearted soul he was in his youth.

The story deals extensively with two of Dickens' perennial themes, social injustice and poverty, the relationship between the two and their causes and effects. Incidentally, the first edition of A Christmas Carol was illustrated by John Leech a politically radical artist who in the cartoon Substance and Shadow printed earlier in 1843, had explicitly criticised artists who failed to address social issues.

Adaptations

A Christmas Carol has been adapted to movies and TV countless times. According to the Internet Movie Database, various movie adaptations of the story were filmed as early as 1910. On December 23, 1938, CBS broadcast a radio adaption by Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre company, in the series The Campbell Playhouse. CBS broadcast a similar adaption in 1939, as well as a reading before a radio audience. The story has also been used by successive generations of movie-makers and television directors to make their own points. In particular, many sitcoms have had episodes adapting or spoofing the story for their Christmas specials. Notable examples include The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Family Ties.

According to critics, the most popular and most enduring motion picture adaptation of the story was made in England in 1951. Originally titled Scrooge (and renamed to A Christmas Carol for its American theatrical release), it starred Alastair Sim as Scrooge, and was directed by Brian Desmond-Hurst.