A CHRISTMAS CAROL
In prose, being a Ghost Story of Christmas
By Charles Dickens
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Illustrations by:
John Leech, George Alfred Williams, Arthur Rackham, Tim Holtrop
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"A Christmas Carol" was first published in 1843, and shows the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from a lonely, selfish, uncaring merchant to a compassionate businessman, who cares for his fellow man.
After a Christmas Eve visit by the tormented ghost of his old business partner, Jacob Marley, warning Scrooge not to share his terrible fate, three "spirits of Christmas" visit Scrooge to try to convince him to change his ways. The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future make their message clear, and, after a restless night, Scrooge wakes up and joyfully embraces the holiday of Christmas.
A newly enlightened Scrooge begins to live out a new life of charity, kindness, and compassion in the spirit of the Christmas season, "...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
"A Christmas Carol" is divided into five "Staves" (or, Stanzas, which can be thought of as chapters). Each stave is displayed on its own web pages for you to view, while the printable version (a PDF) of each web page is accessible by clicking on the "PRINTABLE" button below the text (near the bottom of the page). You may need the free Adobe Reader to view the printable documents.
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