A Christmas Carol pdf, eBook, Summary by Charles Dickens

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A Christmas Carol pdf Overview

A Christmas Carol pdf by Charles Dickens, a novella by Charles Dickens. It was first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843.

A Christmas Carol novel recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol pdf during a period when the British were exploring and re-evaluating past Christmas traditions, including carols, and newer customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. He was influenced by the experiences of his own youth and by the Christmas stories of other authors, including Washington Irving and Douglas Jerrold. Dickens had written three Christmas stories prior to the novella, and was inspired following a visit to the Field Lane Ragged School, one of several establishments for London’s street children. Published on 19 December, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve; by the end of 1844 thirteen editions had been released. Most critics reviewed the novella favorably.

A Christmas Carol Summary

The book is divided into five chapters, which Dickens titled “staves”.

A Christmas Carol pdf Summary Stave One

A Christmas Carol opens on a bleak, cold Christmas Eve in London, seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge’s business partner, Jacob Marley. Scrooge, an ageing miser, dislikes Christmas and refuses a dinner invitation from his nephew Fred—the son of Fan, Scrooge’s dead sister. He turns away two men who seek a donation from him to provide food and heating for the poor and only grudgingly allows his overworked, underpaid clerk, Bob Cratchit, Christmas Day off with pay to conform to the social custom.

That night Scrooge is visited at home by Marley’s ghost, who wanders the Earth entwined by heavy chains and money boxes forged during a lifetime of greed and selfishness. Marley tells Scrooge that he has a single chance to avoid the same fate: he will be visited by three spirits and must listen or be cursed to carry much heavier chains of his own.

A Christmas Carol pdf Summary Stave Two

The first spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to Christmas scenes of Scrooge’s boyhood, reminding him of a time when he was more innocent. The scenes reveal Scrooge’s lonely childhood at boarding school, his relationship with his beloved sister Fan, and a Christmas party hosted by his first employer, Mr Fezziwig, who treated him like a son. Scrooge’s neglected fiancée Belle is shown ending their relationship, as she realizes that he will never love her as much as he loves money. Finally, they visit a now-married Belle with her large, happy family on the Christmas Eve that Marley died. Scrooge, upset by hearing Belle’s description of the man that he has become, demands that the ghost remove him from the house.

A Christmas Carol pdf Summary Stave three

The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to a joyous market with people buying the makings of Christmas dinner. The Ghost then takes Scrooge to Bob Cratchit’s family feast and introduces his youngest son, Tiny Tim, a happy boy who is seriously ill. The spirit informs Scrooge that Tiny Tim will die unless the course of events changes. Afterwards, the spirit and Scrooge travel to celebrations of Christmas in a miner’s cottage, in a lighthouse, and on a ship at sea. Scrooge and the ghost then visit Fred’s Christmas party. Before disappearing, the spirit shows Scrooge two hideous, emaciated children named Ignorance and Want. He tells Scrooge to beware them and mocks Scrooge’s concern for their welfare.

A Christmas Carol pdf Summary Stave Four

The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, shows Scrooge a Christmas Day in the future. The silent ghost reveals scenes involving the death of a disliked man whose funeral is attended by local businessmen only on condition that lunch is provided. His charwoman, laundress and the local undertaker steal his possessions to sell to a fence. When he asks the spirit to show a single person who feels emotion over his death, he is only given the pleasure of a poor couple who rejoice that his death gives them more time to put their finances in order. When Scrooge asks to see tenderness connected with any death, the ghost shows him Bob Cratchit and his family mourning the death of Tiny Tim. The ghost then allows Scrooge to see a neglected grave, with a tombstone bearing Scrooge’s name. Sobbing, Scrooge pledges to change his ways.

A Christmas Carol Summary Stave Five

Scrooge awakens on Christmas morning a changed man. He makes a large donation to the charity he rejected the previous day, anonymously sends a large turkey to the Cratchit home for Christmas dinner and spends the afternoon with Fred’s family. The following day he gives Cratchit an increase in pay, and begins to become a father figure to Tiny Tim. From then on Scrooge treats everyone with kindness, generosity and compassion, embodying the spirit of Christmas.

A Christmas Carol Author – Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens author of a Christmas carol pdf

The author of a Christmas carol pdf Charles Dickens was born in 1812 near Portsmouth where his father was a clerk in the navy pay office. The family moved to London in 1823, but their fortunes were severely impaired. Dickens was sent to work in a blacking-warehouse when his father was imprisoned for debt. Both experiences deeply affected the future novelist. In 1833 he began contributing stories to newspapers and magazines, and in 1836 started the serial publication of Pickwick Papers. Thereafter, Dickens published his major novels over the course of the next twenty years, from Nicholas Nickleby to Little Dorrit. He also edited the journals Household Words and All the Year Round. Dickens died in June 1870.

Information about the book a Christmas carol (Amazon)

A christmas carol by Charles Dickens — A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0753D62YZ

Publisher ‏ : ‎ MVP (August 23, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 23, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English

File size ‏ : ‎ 1113 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported

Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Print length ‏ : ‎ 54 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1979829373
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #249,134 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
#320 in Classic Short Stories
#338 in Classic Fiction Anthologies & Collections

#877 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads
Customer Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars 13,602 ratings

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – Read Online

MARLEY was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Mind! I don’t mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country’s done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail.
Scrooge knew he was dead? Of course he did. How could it be otherwise? Scrooge and he were partners for I don’t know how many years. Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend and sole mourner. And even Scrooge was not so dreadfully cut up by the sad event, but that he was an excellent man of business on the very day of the funeral, and solemnised it with an undoubted bargain.
The mention of Marley’s funeral brings me back to the point I started from. There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate. If we were not perfectly convinced that Hamlet’s Father died before the play began, there would be nothing more remarkable in his taking a stroll at night, in an easterly wind, upon his own ramparts, than there would be in any other middle-aged gentleman rashly turning out after dark in a breezy spot—say Saint Paul’s Churchyard for instance—literally to astonish his son’s weak mind.
Scrooge never painted out Old Marley’s name. There it stood, years afterwards, above the warehouse door: Scrooge and Marley. The firm was known as Scrooge and Marley. Sometimes people new to the business called Scrooge Scrooge, and sometimes Marley, but he answered to both names: it was all the same to him.
Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.
External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, nor wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. Foul weather didn’t know where to have him. The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in only one respect. They often ‘came down’ handsomely, and Scrooge never did.
Nobody ever stopped him in the street to say, with gladsome looks, ‘My dear Scrooge, how are you? when will you come to see me?’ No beggars implored him to bestow a trifle, no children asked him what it was ‘oclock, no man or woman ever once in all his life inquired the way to such and such a place, of Scrooge. Even the blindmen’s dogs appeared to know him; and when they saw him coming on, would tug their owners into doorways and up courts; and then would wag their tails as though they said, ‘no eye at all is better than an evil eye, dark master!’

But what did Scrooge care? It was the very thing he liked. To edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call ‘nuts’ to Scrooge.

Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house. It was cold, bleak, biting weather: foggy withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside, go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement-stones to warm them. The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already: it had not been light all day: and candles were flaring in the windows of the neighbouring offices, like ruddy smears upon the palpable brown air. The fog came pouring in at every chink and keyhole, and was so dense without, that although the court was of the narrowest, the houses opposite were mere phantoms. To see the dingy cloud come drooping down, obscuring everything, one might have thought that Nature lived hard by, and was brewing on a large scale.

The door of Scrooge’s counting-house was open that he might keep his eye upon his clerk, who in a dismal little cell beyond, a sort of tank, was copying letters. Scrooge had a very small fire, but the clerk’s fire was so very much smaller that it looked like one coal. But he couldn’t replenish it, for Scrooge kept the coal-box in his own room; and so surely as the clerk came in with the shovel, the master predicted that it would be necessary for them to part. Wherefore the clerk put on his white comforter, and tried to warm himself at the candle; in which effort, not being a man of a strong imagination, he failed.

A Christmas Carol Quotes

“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

“‘There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say,’ returned the nephew. ‘Christmas among the rest. . . . And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!‘”

″‘Business!’ cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. ‘Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!‘”

“His wealth is of no use to him. He don’t do any good with it. . . . I am sorry for him; I couldn’t be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims! Himself, always.”

“He was conscious of a thousand odours floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares long, long, forgotten!”

“I see a vacant seat,” replied the Ghost, “in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.”

“He’s a comical old fellow,” said Scrooge’s nephew, “that’s the truth: and not so pleasant as he might be. However, his offences carry their own punishment, and I have nothing to say against him.”

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good-humour.”

“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!”

A Christmas Carol Major Characters

Ebenezer Scrooge

The miserly owner of a London counting-house, a nineteenth century term for an accountant’s office. The three spirits of Christmas visit the stodgy bean-counter in hopes of reversing Scrooge’s greedy, cold-hearted approach to life.

Bob Cratchit

Scrooge’s clerk, a kind, mild, and very poor man with a large family. Though treated harshly by his boss, Cratchit remains a humble and dedicated employee.

Tiny Tim

Bob Cratchit’s young son, crippled from birth. Tiny Tim is a highly sentimentalized character who Dickens uses to highlight the tribulations of England’s poor and to elicit sympathy from his middle and upper class readership.

Jacob Marley

In the living world, Ebenezer Scrooge’s equally greedy partner. Marley died seven years before the narrative opens. He appears to Scrooge as a ghost condemned to wander the world bound in heavy chains. Marley hopes to save his old partner from suff ering a similar fate.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

The first spirit to visit Scrooge, a curiously childlike apparition with a glowing head. He takes Scrooge on a tour of Christmases in his past. The spirit uses a cap to dampen the light emanating from his head.

The Ghost of Christmas Present

The second spirit to visit Scrooge, a majestic giant clad in a green robe. His lifespan is restricted to Christmas Day. He escorts Scrooge on a tour of his contemporaries’ Holiday celebrations.

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

The third and final spirit to visit Scrooge, a silent phantom clad in a hooded black robe. He presents Scrooge with an ominous view of his lonely death.

Fred

Scrooge’s nephew, a genial man who loves Christmas. He invites Scrooge to his Christmas party each and every year, only to be refused by his grumpy uncle.

Fezziwig

The jovial merchant with whom the young Scrooge apprenticed. Fezziwig was renowned for his wonderful Christmas parties.

Belle

A beautiful woman who Scrooge loved deeply when he was a young man. Belle broke off their engagement after Scrooge became consumed with greed and the lust for wealth. She later married another man.

Peter Cratchit

Bob’s oldest son, who inherits his father’s stiff-collared shirt for Christmas.

Martha Cratchit

Bob’s oldest daughter, who works in a milliner’s shop. (A milliner is a person who designs, produces, and sells hats.)

A Christmas Carol Reviews

Editorial reviews and praise for a Christmas carol by Charles Dickens
From the Inside Flap

“Bah Humbug!” That’s how Ebeneezer Scrooge feels about Christmas–until the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future decide to show the crotchety old miser the error of his ways. Together they travel through time, revisiting all the people who have played an important role in Scrooge’s life. And as their journey concludes, Scrooge is reminded of what it means to have love in his heart, and what the true spirit of Christmas is all about. A timeless story the whole family will enjoy!

Amazon.com Reviews

In the history of English literature, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, which has been continuously in print since it was first published in the winter of 1843, stands out as the quintessential Christmas story. What makes this charming edition of Dickens’s immortal tale so special is the collection of 80 vivid illustrations by Everett Shinn (1876-1953). Shinn, a well-known artist in his time, was a popular illustrator of newspapers and magazines whose work displayed a remarkable affinity for the stories of Charles Dickens, evoking the bustling street life of the mid-1800s. Printed on heavy, cream-colored paper stock, the edges of the pages have been left rough, simulating the way in which the story might have appeared in Dickens’s own time. Though countless editions of this classic have been published over the years, this one stands out as particularly beautiful, nostalgic, and evocative of the spirit of Christmas.

From Booklist

Blake’s familiar scraggly cartoon-type illustrations done in line and watercolor lend their own decided sense of character and wit to Dickens’ classic Christmas tale. Whether of a dour Scrooge crouched over piles of coins, the suffering specter of Jacob Marley rattling his chains, or the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, the pictures are a perfect match for the story. A good selection for collections wanting another version. -Sally Estes

From Library Journal

This duo offer two versions of the holiday standard, with the Stewart, Tabori & Chang edition including the original full text (old spellings, etc.) plus more than 75 illustrations?24 in color. The DK version is part of the publisher’s new “Eyewitness Classics” collection (Classic Returns, LJ 9/15/97) and features a heavily abridged text and numerous photographs explaining items mentioned in the story (workhouses, nightcaps, etc.) and would serve as an ideal introduction for young readers.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

While there are several versions of the holiday favorite to choose from, those wishing for a solidly classic telling will be more than satisfied with this complete edition. Hans Christian Andersen Award winner Innocenti renders the ink illustration masterfully. Whether the scenes feature a crowded city street; the frightening conversation between Scrooge and the transparent, white-outlined ghost of Marley; or a merry gathering at Fezziwig’s warehouse, the detailed, Dickensian atmosphere is perfectly captured. Perspective plays an effective role as well, as when Scrooge’s small and solitary head is first seen through the window of his office. The final image also depicts Scrooge through a window, but from the inside looking out into a sunny green field, with Tiny Tim standing close to the man who has become a second father. VERDICT All in all, a handsome, worthy addition to holiday reading traditions.—Joanna Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

Review

“This volume is a distinguished addition to a superb series. Richard Kelly’s fine edition of Dickens’s ‘timeless classic’ richly documents just how very timely this little book was, being the inspired and inspiring result of Dickens’s passionately humanitarian response to the harshness and brutality with which the poor, especially children of the poor, were treated in the England of 1843. In his substantial introduction, supplemented by a well-chosen selection of contemporary writings, Professor Kelly also demonstrates another notable aspect of the work’s timeliness by situating it in the context of the great revival of traditional Christmas festivities going on during the first half of the nineteenth century.” – Michael Slater, Birkbeck College, University of London

From Publishers Weekly

Lisbeth Zwerger’s glorious watercolors for Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, first published in 1988, once again prove that she is as adept at creating the terrifying image of Christmas Yet to Come as she is showing the miraculous transformation of Scrooge.Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

There can never be too many audio editions of certain novels, and this popular, much-loved perennial attests to that… This audiobook distinguishes itself by offering the unabridged novel rather than a dramatic made-for-radio adaptation or a selection of excerpts. Still short and sweet, with a great deal more Dickensian tongue-in-cheek humor than comes across in movie versions, this audiobook is a treat. In a written introduction to his novel, Dickens makes it clear that he intended his tale to be uplifting rather than scary. Prebble’s multi-voiced narration reflects the author’s purpose. His ghosts sound more instructive than haunting. His Scrooge is more tentative than terrified. But your favorite scenes will still grab you, and Scrooge’s transition from a miserable skinflint to a lighthearted lover of life is portrayed convincingly. –Kliatt.

From the Publisher

The best-known and best-loved of Dickens’ tales, A CHRISTMAS CAROL PDF is the story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who hated the humbug of Christmas…until one Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on journeys through the past, present and future. As Scrooge enters the lives of the lovable Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, and the Fezziwigs, he comes to know the meaning of kindness, charity, and goodwill. A story of yuletide joy, A CHRISTMAS CAROL is Dickens’ hymn to the spirit of Christmas, a spirit to be cherished, as Scrooge himself realizes, throughout “all the year.”This easy-to-read edition of A CHRISTMAS CAROL includes sixteen pages of historical illustrations and a brief biography of the author, Charles Dickens

From the Label

Freshwater Seas is a media and production company devoted to bringing interesting and unusual material from beyond the beaten path to our customers. We work in theater, music, photography, video and audio, taking advantage of theatrical approaches to produce fresh and exciting work.

Customer reviews on Amazon for a christmas carol by Charles Dickens

Alan

4.0 out of 5 stars Quite nice, but not an exact reproduction of the original
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2017
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This is a nice version of A Christmas Carol, but I was hoping it would be a more accurate reproduction of the first printing. It has a printed hardcover, but not leather with gilded graphic and text like the first edition was. It also does not have the gilded page edges like the original. The biggest downfall is that the original illustrations are poor quality. Still nice overall.

Gerald T. Cloniger

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful addition to my library
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2019
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I have several illustrated adaptations of A Christmas Carol-( One of my most favorite stories) – I have the complete version in a Dickens Christmas story book from my childhood– but I wanted a “Stand Alone” copy- I love the handwritten pages with the strike-out corrections made by Dickens himself!! They are side by side with each printed page- I feel a closeness with Dickens himself now!! Kaye Cloniger

ARAVIND

5.0 out of 5 stars What a wonderful Classic…

Reviewed in India on August 5, 2018

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A Christmas Carol pdf by Charles Dickens…!!!

Its a Classic fiction Story… which revolves around a person named Ebenezer Scrooge, The man only gives respect to money but no one else…!!!

At one point while describing Scrooge, Author writes like this “No warmth could warm, No wintry weather will chill him, No wind that blew was bitterer than he, No falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, No pelting rain less open to entreaty” In this book, A situation comes where Scrooge should meet Three Spirits The Spirit of past, present and Future. Now the question is whether these spirits able to change the attitude of Scrooge or not and what happens to Scrooge after meeting these three spirits…!!! One should read this book and learn for themselves…!!!

Its a wonderful classic… and what makes A Christmas carol pdf Special is – “The Author : Charles Dickens” The way he express the story will leave readers speechless..!!!

I Strongly recommend one to buy this book, and the following once…

* A Christmas Carol
* Animal Farm
* The Time Machine
* Frankenstein
* 1984

Miss K. Southern

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun, festive, feel-good story and my first ever Dickens read…

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2018

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It may come as a surprise to a lot of people, but this is my first ever read by Charles Dickens. Of course I know all about his work: I know who Miss Haversham is, grew up watching ‘Oliver Twist’, and what would Christmas truly be without ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol pdf’. The last is a Christmas film that really makes me feel festive, but songs aside, I decided to see how close it was to the actual original source, and whether that would give the same kind of feeling!

The short answer is: yes! I was surprised by how many direct quotes I recognised and this is definitely a festive story, to be enjoyed at Christmas time. I’ve decided through this small glimpse of his work that Mr Dickens had a WONDERFUL sense of humour and a gift when it came to writing. I was totally engrossed in the story! I meant only to load it up on my Kindle ready, but ended up reading the whole thing quite by accident! Even better, there really are some wonderful messages here, buried deep if you know where to look. For example, this is probably one of the best portrayals of female characters with ACTUAL PERSONALITY I’ve seen written by a man in the Victorian era.

As with all Victorian novels (thanks to the ‘paid by word’ rule for serial writers, or so I’m told) this is pretty wordy and repetitive at times. However, as I’ve said, Dickens was pretty brilliant in his method and there was almost a self awareness about this and he turned it into a humorous joke. I didn’t find it irritating like I usually do, that’s for sure! This book had fantastic character, and I loved the story, the spirits, descriptions and heartfelt, festive conclusion.

A Christmas Carol pdf, eBook, Summary by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol pdf Overview