The number of movies, plays, readings, cartoons, illustrated copies and spin offs of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol,” better known as “Scrooge,” has grown yearly, since it was published in 1834.
Dickens had original planned to write “An Appeal to the People of England on behalf of the Poor Man’s Child,” but thought his ideas about the ills of the day may be better received by the public if he laid out his concerns in a story. Besides, ghost stories were very popular fare at Christmas time, so what better than a visit from three spirits to get your point across.
Having read the report on child labor in England, Dickens was horrified by the conditions children were laboring under, such as girls who sewed dresses working 16 hours a day, think Martha Cratchit, and sleeping at the factory. The summation of his findings may be the lines of the second spirit, “This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.”
In the two months Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol,” his intent was to show that employers are responsible for the welfare of their employees. They are of value as “fellow-passengers to the grave,” in the words of Scrooge’s nephew, “and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” Employers owe their employees as human beings—no better, but no worse, than themselves.
Approaching the 200 year mark, the story as Dickens wrote it, deserves a read at Christmas time. You can read it on-line by going to A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas
If you’ve ever wondered who Marley was, get a hold of John Clinch’s prequel to “A Christmas Carol,” called “Marley.” It’s available from Amazon, but you can probably get it from your local library. It’s a fascinating read. However, before reading it, be sure to read Dickens first as Clinch’s book dove tails exactly with the original.
Clinch is a friend of my husbands. He told him that people get very angry with him insisting that he deviated from the book. Nothing could be further from the truth. However, there are many movie adaptations, which have strayed far from Dickens’ original. A Christmas Carol Film Adaptations: Movie Versions of Charles Dickens, which is a good overview of the many renditions, including how they different from the book. While many favor the Alistair Sim’s movie version from 1951, it has Scrooge’s mother as well as his sister Fan dying in childbirth. Neither of these events appear in the book.
Interestingly, the version many Dicken’s purist like is The Muppet Christmas Carol, as it stays true to the book better than other films.
There are plenty of audio versions. Check out THE BEST AUDIO ADAPTATIONS OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL
A Christmas Carol 1938 with Orson Welles
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