The Man Who Invented Christmas
By Les Standiford
- Release Date: 2008-11-04
- Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Description
As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.
Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.
The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.
With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.
From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
The true meaning....
5By DrMcDougallA fascinating study of the man, the myth, his virtues, and his vices as told through his greatest novel: Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol. The Man Who Invented Christmas presents the history of the period, as well as the life of the man who created his "little carol." While we all have heard, read, or seen various adaptations of the story, the interesting part of this book, allows you to feel like you're there - you can get a sense of what Dickens went through, what he was thinking, and most importantly, what were the consequences of his writings and actions. I recommend this book highly, as through reading it, you will gain a more knowledgeable appreciation of the man and his book, while perhaps gaining some insight as to the endearing quality of a novel, that we all have read so many times, whether young or old. I promise, it will make you pick up a copy of A Christmas Carol, to read it again.....for the first time!
