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A Christmas Carol

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A Christmas Carol A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY CHARLES DICKENS ORIGINAL TEXT AND ILLUSTRATIONS WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION This eBook was Published by Abbott ePublishing Manchester, New Hampshire “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens (1843) © 2008 Abbott ePublishing. All rights reserved. Edited and New Introduction by Abbott ePublishing. The purchaser of this eBook may not resell it or redistribute it, but may read it for personal use and store it on electronic devices for that purpose. An Introduction A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol) is a novella by Charles Dickens first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech. The first of the author's five "Christmas books", the story was an instant success, selling over six thousand copies in one week, and the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time. Contemporaries noted that the story's popularity played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. "If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease", said English poet Thomas Hood. The story deals extensively with two of Dickens' recurrent themes, social injustice and poverty, the relationship between the two, and their causes and effects. It was written to be abrupt and forceful with its message, with a working title of "The Sledgehammer." The first edition of A Christmas Carol was illustrated by John Leech, a politically radical artist who in the cartoon "Substance and Shadow" printed earlier in 1843 had explicitly criticized artists who failed to address social issues. Dickens wrote in the wake of British government changes to the welfare system known as the Poor Laws, changes which required among other things, welfare applicants to "work" on treadmills, as Scrooge points out. Dickens asks, in effect, for people to recognize the plight of those whom the Industrial Revolution has displaced and driven into poverty, and the obligation of society to provide for them humanely. Failure to do so, the writer implies through the personification of Ignorance and Want as ghastly children, will result in an unnamed "Doom" for those who, like Scrooge, believe their wealth and status qualifies them to sit in judgement on the poor rather than to assist them. Scrooge “embodies all the selfishness and indifference of the prosperous classes who parrot phrases about the ‘surplus population’ and think their social responsibilities fully discharged when they have paid their taxes.” Originally a medieval round dance and then a word for a particular type of ballad, by Dickens' time the word “carol” had come closer to its modern meaning, being a joyful hymn specific to Christmas. Dickens takes this musical analogy further, dividing the novella into five "staves", instead of chapters. A Christmas Carol was the subject of Dickens' first ever public reading, given in Birmingham Town Hall to the Industrial and Literary Institute on December 27, 1852. This was repeated three days later to an audience of 'working people', and was a great success by his own account and that of newspapers of the time. Over the years Dickens edited the piece down and adapted it for a listening, rather than reading, audience. Excerpts from A Christmas Carol remained part of Dickens' public readings until his death. The work has been adapted for theatre, opera, film, radio, and television countless times, and has been the subject of spoofs, satire and take-offs in all media. On the Stage A Christmas Carol (1974), original musical-comedy stage adaptation written and directed by, and starring, Ira David Wood III, performed for the last 33 years on stage at Raleigh's Memorial Auditorium. Theatre In The Park, in Raleigh, North Carolina, has produced the show since its premiere. Wood's "A Christmas Carol" is the longest running indoor show in North Carolina theatre history. A musical adaptation premiered in 1982 at the Hartman Theater, Stamford, Conn. The show was workshopped as a tour in 1981, with Richard Kiley as Scrooge. Book and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, Music by Michel Legrand. The 1983 theatrical adaptation by Jeffrey Sanzel has been performed annually at Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, New York for 25 years. In 2007, Sanzel reached 800 performances as Scrooge. The Gospel According to Scrooge (1986) was a stage musical that emphasizes the religious elements of the story, often performed by American Christian churches. Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart, a Shakespearean actor of great renown before the popular TV series, performed a one-man reading/acting of the story on Broadway in 1991. On stage he would use a table, chair, stool, lectern, and a book with an over-sized print cover to enact the entire story. The show was revived in 1993, 1995, and 2001. The Story in Film The beloved story has been filmed since the earliest days of cinema, to varying degrees of success. “Scrooge; or Marley's Ghost” was a 1901 short British film that was the first screen adaptation. Film versions in 1908 (starring Thomas Ricketts as Scrooge) and 1910 (a 15-minute silent film starring Marc McDermott as Scrooge and Charles Ogle as Cratchit) and yet another in 1913 followed. “The Right to Be Happy” (1916) was the first feature-length adaptation, directed by and starring Rupert Julian as Scrooge. “Scrooge” (1935), was a British movie starring Sir Seymour Hicks as Scrooge. A 1938 version starred Reginald Owen as Scrooge and Gene Lockhart and Kathleen Lockhart as the Cratchits. “Scrooge” in 1970 was a musical film adaptation starring Albert Finney as Scrooge and Alec Guinness as Marley's Ghost. A 1971 “A Christmas Carol” is an Oscar-winning animated short film by Richard Williams, with Alastair Sim reprising the role of Scrooge. Perhaps the most well-known of modern films, “Mickey's Christmas Carol” (1983), is an animated short film featuring the various Walt Disney characters (including characters from Wind in the Willows, Robin Hood and The Three Little Pigs), with Scrooge McDuck fittingly playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. This version was based on the 1972 audio musical entitled Disney's A Christmas Carol. Most of the cast remained unchanged; however, in the audio version, Merlin (from The Sword in the Stone) and the Queen (from Snow White, in her hag guise) portrayed the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Future, respectively (the Ghost of Christmas Present was portrayed by Willie the Giant, as in the film version), whereas in the movie they were played by Jiminy Cricket and Pete. Comedian Bill Murray memorably adapted the story in 1988’s “Scrooged” in which he plays a misanthropic TV producer who is haunted by the ghosts of Christmas. Another film for the kids, “The Muppet Christmas Carol” in 1992 featured the various Muppet characters, with Michael Caine as Scrooge. This adaption also adds a character named Robert Marley, who is Jacob's brother and was a second partner in Scrooge's business. He appears with Jacob as a ghost. Also with Gonzo as Charles Dickens, with Rizzo the Rat tagging along, being "just here for the food." The voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York and Ed Asner are heard in 1997’s version, an animated production featuring the voice of Tim Curry as Scrooge. And the films continue. A 2006 version is a computer animated adaptation featuring anthropomorphic animals in the lead roles, and another CGI version is 2008’s “Barbie in a Christmas Carol” featuring the popular female doll. On Television Television adaptations stretch back to the earliest era of the medium, and continue to this day. As might be expected, they have reached from the ridiculous to the sublime. An early television adaptation was broadcast live by DuMont's New York station WABD on December 20, 1944. A 1949 adaptation starred Taylor Holmes as Scrooge with Vincent Price as the on-screen narrator. Ralph Richardson was Scrooge in a 30-minute filmed episode of NBC's Fireside Theatre in 1951. A 1954 musical version with some star-power featured Fredric March as Scrooge and Basil Rathbone as Marley. Adaptation and lyrics were by Maxwell Anderson, and music was composed by Bernard Herrmann. A filmed episode of the series Shower of Stars, and the first version in color, March received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance. Cartoons have also gotten in on the act. “Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol” (1979), was an animated television special featuring the various Looney Tunes characters, and in 1985, "A Jetsons Christmas Carol" featured a Christmas-themed episode of The Jetsons in which Cosmo Spaceley is the "Scrooge" visited by three robotlike "ghosts". Perhaps to prove that any version is possible, a 2003 Made-for-TV adaptation on the Hallmark Channel starred 90210 actress Tori Spelling as "Scroogette." William Shatner made a special appearance as the ghost of Christmas Present, and Gary Coleman was the ghost of Christmas Past. On a more serious note, perhaps the best known and beloved adaptations of recent decades as 1984’s “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge, David Warner and Susanna York as the Cratchitts, with Edward Woodward as The Ghost Of Christmas Present. Scott, who had played Fagin in a previous version, received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance. Whatever the medium, this enduring, and endearing, story has become deeply ingrained in the Western Christmas Tradition. It’s hardly Christmas without watching, reading or hearing it in some form, which accounts for its numerous adaptations.
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