Deze verzameling verhalen vangt meesterlijk de magie en warmte van de feestdagen. De auteur onderzoekt het menselijk hart met buitengewone empathie, en toont de kracht van mededogen, vergeving en transformatie. Deze verhalen, die zich afspelen in het leven van gewone mensen, onthullen vrijgevigheid en vriendelijkheid die zelfs in de meest nederige huizen gedijen. Het is een viering van de menselijkheid die hoop en geloof in het goede biedt, zelfs als het leven uitdagend lijkt.
A collection of five short novels written between 1843 and 1848 for Christmas - "A Christmas Carol", "The Chimes", "The Cricket on the Hearth", "The Battle of Life" and "The Haunted Man". This edition is based on the 1868 edition, corrected by the author and with a chronology by Ruth Tillotson.
The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, The Haunted Man
The Cricket on the Hearth , Dickens's third, eagerly awaited Christmas book, was the most popular of all. Set in a pantomime world of toys, it was acclaimed by an amused and delighted Thackeray as a fancy 'crammed with extra bonbons, French plums and sweetnesses...a Christmas pageant which you witness in the arm-chair -- your private box by the fireside'. The Battle of Life , subtitled 'A Love Story', has little in common with the other Christmas books, although it does share the theme of the morally beneficial effects of memory, which runs throughout the genre and is central to The Haunted Man. This last Christmas book contains one of Dickens's greatest comic families -- the Tetterbys -- and a horrifying, concentrated poignancy in its depiction of the Hungry Forties which foreshadowed the achievement of Bleak House. The Christmas Books , Volume 1, containing The Christmas Carol and The Chimes , is also published in Penguin Classics.
A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life, The Haunted Man
Originally written between 1843 and 1848, this collection of Dickens' short novels celebrates the joys of the festive season.
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books
Charles Dickens significantly shaped both English literature and Western civilization, emerging as the first fiction writer to achieve international fame. He pioneered episodic storytelling and the cliffhanger, impacting film and television narratives. Dickens crafted the enduring image of Victorian London and created iconic characters like Oliver Twist and Ebenezer Scrooge, whose mythic status continues to resonate in popular culture. His work has left an indelible mark on storytelling, character development, and societal reflections in literature.
Charles Dickens is considered one of the greatest English authors of all time. Dickens often used the pen name Boz. Much of his work first appeared in periodicals and magazines in serialized form. Unlike many writers of his time Dickens wrote the entire novel before serializing it. He made frequent use of the cliffhanger to keep the public interested. A Christmas Carol is a traditional favorite about the conversion of Ebenezer Scrooge from a grasping old miser. Three nights in succession, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and emerges from the experience a totally changed man. The Cricket on the Hearth published in 1845 is a Christmas story. Instead of chapters this book is divided into Chirps. The story revolves around a family with a cricket in the house. The cricket is their guardian angel. At one point the cricket warns the master that his wife may be having an affair. Even though this seems to be a tragic occurrence all is well in the end. Love prevails and a girl may regain her sight. This IS a Christmas tale after all.