The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits

By Les Standiford

Book Overview

As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how Charles Dickens revived the signal holiday of the Western world--now a major motion picture. 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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307405796
• ISBN13: 9780307405791
• Release Date: October 2011
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful addition to Dicken's Christmas Carol

For readers who appreciate Dickens' classic book, this is a wonderful addition that will help you appreciate the book even more. I have read The Christmas Carol all but two years since 1973 so it has obviously become a Christmas tradition for me. I never fail to appreciate the genius in what Dickens created, the fact that he created a masterpiece that will help anyone appreciate that a life can change and the wonderful season of Christmas seems particularly able to initiate such change. "The Man Who Invented Christmas" brings the reader more depth in understanding and appreciating Dickens' work. A new classic about an old classic. I highly recommend it!

Wonderful Gift Book

While I'm not fully conversant with the gift publishing genre, this has to be a first. Les Standiford and Crown have created something special. The paper, its weight, texture and overall quality as well as the print and general layout appear to be of gift book quality. The text is substantive, and just deep enough for a gift book "ideal". While not a polemic or a research piece (though it is nicely referenced)the author builds a case, not so much for Dickens' invention of Christmas, but that much of today's Christmas symbolism results from "A Christmas Carol". In doing this he tells the general life of Dickens and how he came to self publish this work under time and financial pressures. Last year my gift book was Basilica: The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's, which I don't think was designed as a gift book, but I made it one. I wasn't aware of this volume, but my receipients will enjoy it next year. I expect it will be in print for years to come, so while I missed it last year, I believe that, like Dickens' works, it will be in print for years to come and I will be one among many gifting it.

A New Appreciation

I could never quite get the hang of Dickens's writing. I found it laborious rather than fun, but loved his "A Christmas Carol" so I was excited to read about the man Dickens himself as portrayed by Standiford. This book was so much fun to read. I felt a part of the era and came to appreciate Dickens so much so that I just might try reading his other works again . . . definitely with newfound insight into the man himself. Thank you! Carolyn Dargevics of YourPublishingSource.com

A Joyous and Informative Read

Mr. Standiford's new book is a worthy contribution to the Dickens literature. In a concise way, we learn of the influences on Dickens' life and career. We join Dickens in the creation of the timeless CAROL. In the end, Dickens' achievement appears to be even more of an enduring miracle, This book should please all who read and love Dickens and who look forward to more visits with Scrooge and his immortal ghosts.

A True Christmas Gift

In this jewel of a book, Les Standiford gives us a true holiday gift. It's the perfect Christmas book--to give or simply to curl up with and sip a cup of eggnog. Fascinating facts told wonderfully. The highest recommendation.