Staff Picks, A Christmas Carol and other books inspired by Dickens’ classic tale
If you’re like me, an annual rereading of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is a welcomed tradition this time of year. The 6,000 original copies first published on December 19,1843 quickly sold out before Christmas eve that year and since then Dickens’s tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future have become engrained in our culture. Today’s staff picks first look at where you can find a copy of A Christmas Carol to read, listen to, or watch, and then suggest some other books inspired by Dickens’ famous tale.
Beth recommends . . .
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
With so many productions and interpretations of this classic tale, I often find myself wanting to turn back to the original text. Here are some places to find a copy to listen to or read:
Find A Christmas Carol in the library catalog Here
Available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Hoopla eBook and eAudiobook and movie
A Christmas Carol is available in public domain and also available through:
The Gutenberg Project eBook and LibriVox audio recordings
YouTube is also filled with various recordings, one of my favorites Here
The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol rescued his career and revived our Holiday Spirits
by Les Standiford
Charles Dickens was something of a literary rock star of his day, but at the time just before he wrote A Christmas Carol, he was struggling. This nonfiction account of Charles Dickens life and the writing of his famous tale is a book I’d recommend to those interested in more background about the circumstances that led up to Dickens writing A Christmas Carol in a mere 6 weeks!
Find The Man Who Invented Christmas in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook
The Man Who Invented Christmas was also adapted into a popular movie starring Dan Stevens (as Dickens) and Christopher Plummer (as an ethereal Scrooge).
Not currently available in library catalog, but can ordered through interlibrary loan.
Mr. Dickens and his Carol
by Samantha Silva
When Samantha Silva set out to write this story, it started out as a screenplay. After several near misses selling her screenplay and having it turned into a film, she turned it into a novel. This story is told in a Dickens-like style and you might be surprised by some of the details. Some liberties are taken with the actual facts, but travel back to Victorian England and experience what it might have been like as Charles Dickens writes his famous tale.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Hoopla eAudiobook
Montana Library2Go eBook
Marley
by Jon Clinch
The very first lines of A Christmas Carol blatantly proclaim Marley’s death:
MARLEY WAS DEAD, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
Marley was Scrooge’s business partner in life. If you’ve ever wondered more about the character of Marley and what exactly he did to deserve his eternity wrapped in heavy iron chains, check out this imaginative book by Jon Clinch. Not a Christmas story per se, but an interesting perspective on the possible relationship between Marley and Scrooge during their living years.
Find it in the library catalog Here
Read more about the author Here
The Afterlife of Holly Chase
by Cynthia Hand
Cynthia Hand has created a young adult novel inspired by Dicken’s Christmas Carol, but instead of an elderly Scrooge, the author creates a self-absorbed, not-so-nice 17-year-old girl who, despite being visited by three ghosts on Christmas eve, does not change her cruel ways. This spunky, modern fantasy/romance novel will keep you guessing till the very end.
Find The Afterlife of Holly Chase in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Hoopla eBook and eAudiobook
Read more about Cynthia Hand at FantasticFiction.com
A Boy Called Dickens
written by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by John Hendrix
A biographical picture book about a difficult time in Charles Dicken’s childhood which influenced many of his future writings.
Find A Boy Called Dickens in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Montana Library2Go eBook
