I have two related books that need a review for your reading pleasure during this season. My dilemma was which to do first. I finally decided to do the newest first since you will already recognize part of the other.
Samantha Silva, in her book Mr. Dickens and His Carol, begins with many realities. Charles Dickens and his wife enjoy an extravagant lifestyle. His ne’er do well father and many other relatives and friends rely on his generous nature to help them out. since he is perceived to be rich with all his famous books. However, Martin Chuzzlewit, his last book has not done well. The critics panned it, and his publishers are insisting on a Christmas book that will get them out of the financial bind that they are in.
From these truths that Dickens fans already know, the author moves into a fictional tale that is as realistic as A Christmas Carol. She weaves Dickens’ habits, such as long walks through London, into a story that involves an insubstantial muse named Eleanor Lovejoy. Desperately, he works to overcome writer’s block and get a Christmas tale out in time for the holiday.
The book may not please sticklers for the truth, but any Dickens’ fans with whimsical natures and a love for A Christmas Carol will enjoy the story. They will enjoy the names, phrases, door knockers, and people that pop up throughout – taken from the original carol. It is a good book to precede or follow an annual reading of A Christmas Carol with an eye to comparing the spirits that inhabit both books.
In my next blog, I will recommend one of the multitude of renditions of A Christmas Carol to enhance your Christmas reading. I advise reading them back to back without a preference to which comes first.