Who Wrote “A Christmas Carol”
“A Christmas Carol” is a popular fictional Christmas novel, set in 1840’s England, that follows the character Ebenezer Scrooge through a personal transformation. He begins the novel as a harsh and stingy character and begins a journey on supernatural visits on Christmas Eve that will change the way he views the world. This story is so popular that it has been adapted for film, ballet, opera, stage show and radio plays. Let’s take a look at who wrote this popular novel.
Who Wrote “A Christmas Carol”?
“A Christmas Carol” was written by the famous English author Charles Dickens. He began writing it in October of 1843 and completed the book in Early December of the same year. It was first published on 17 December 1843 and the first production run, 6,000 copies, were sold out by Christmas Eve. It was also an immediate critical success and it was widely praised, even by the harshest of critics. Less than a year after publication the novel was adapted for the stage. The book has never been out of print since it was first published. Some early versions may differ slightly because Dickens made tweaks to the punctuation and phrasing of the novel.
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The book was a major success, but it turned into a financial failure for Dickens who decided to publish the work at his own expense. He was hoping for £1,000, but due to the high production costs only made a total of £230 (equal to about £19,000 today). A year later he had still only made £744.
“A Christmas Carol” has had a major impact on many of its readers. For example, a factory owner attended a reading of the book on Christmas Even in 1867, and was so touched by the story that he closed his factory for Christmas Day and sent every worker a turkey. It is also reported that the Queen of Norway sent gifts to the crippled children of London with a note signed “With Tiny Tim’s Love.”
It is also believed that the novel had a major influence on how we celebrate Christmas today. Dickens novel may have inspired a more family-focused celebration.
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