The phenomenal success of "A Christmas Carol" in 1843 emboldened Charles Dickens (1812-1870) to make the publication of a special "Christmas book" an annual tradition. Over the next five years, he published four: "The Chimes," "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Battle of Life," and "The Haunted Man." All four sold well, but the critical response was increasingly tepid, and the effort to mix a Christmas book in among his other works was a strain for...