Charles Dickens had been a publishing sensation in England and the United States, but he was deeply in debt when he wrote A Christmas Carol in only six weeks and took a chance by essentially self-publishing the story. This is the story of Dickens and the Carol, with some history of English publishing and just a smidge about Christmas as a holiday. Mostly, it's the story of Dickens and of A Christmas Carol, which has become one of the best known and well-loved of his oeuvre.

Though short in page count, The Man Who Invented Christmas packs a lot of information in it. I found the bits about publishing and copyright really interesting, and only wish there was a little bit more about the celebration of Christmas. The subtitle is "How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits." It definitely delivers on the first half, but I thought more could have been said on the second. There was some historical information about Christmas, but I was left rather hazy on exactly how A Christmas Carol affected the ways the holiday is celebrated today, and wish more had been said about that. The bibliography may help fill that gap, though, giving me ideas of what to read next. ( )

What a wonderful read for the holiday season. My book club had just finished reading A Christmas Carol so this book came at the perfect time. I have always been a fan of Dickens and enjoyed learning more about his background and the circumstances that caused him to write this book. It was also very informative to see how Christmas used to be celebrated and how it has evolved over the years. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes A Christmas Carol. ( )

Attempts to parallel the rise in popularity of Christmas with the popularity of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The book is filled with interesting facts about Dickens and about the making of "A Christmas Carol," but I don't think it does a great job at paralleling the arcs of Christmas celebration with the life of Charles Dickens. "A Christmas Carol" is quite popular, indeed, but I don't think I've ever heard it said that Charles Dickens reinvented Christmas with it.

The physical book is a bit smaller than the average hardback which leads me to believe it was published to make a quick buck at Christmas by allowing itself to be easily displayed on the Christmas table at Barnes & Noble. ( )

Copy and pasted from my blog:

I picked this book up from the new releases table at Borders because I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens, and with the Christmas season coming up fairly quickly I thought it would be beneficial to read about the origins of one of my favorite Christmas tales. This is a non-fiction work, and while it is a biography down to the last word, I found it to be extremely conversational and light reading. There are many different biographies out there on Dickens, but it was interesting to get a perspective based around a specific work. I think this helped Standiford narrow the multitude of facts available on Dickens down to a manageable amount, which contributed to the ease of reading for me.

There are so many things to love about this book, especially for the die-hard fan of classic literature and its authors. There are many anecdotes discussed that link Dickens’ life experiences to his work, and explain why he may have written the things he did. There is also an in-depth look at the symbolism of the Carol, as well as analysis of the reactions of Dickens’ friends and reviewers of the time. All these are things that made the part of me that remembers I hold a degree in history absolutely hungry for more.

There are a few areas I think Standiford could have improved upon before the final publication of this book. Since I’ve just finished it, I think the ending is most fresh in my mind and I can only say I feel it was too short. I feel like I spent so many pages delving into the very heart of the Carol, with so many different aspects dissected and analyzed for my enjoyment, and then the conclusion was almost unbearably quick. After he finishes his analysis, Standiford rapidly discusses the other Christmas books Dickens wrote, followed by a quick succession of other novels, and then discusses his unfortunate demise and death from a stroke. While he does devote the final chapter to summarizing just how important Dickens was to the institution of Christmas and the celebrations we enjoy today, I just can’t shake the feeling that the end was put together much faster than the rest of the book, and meant to tie up as many loose ends as possible without using too many words.

This is interesting, in that it is almost the complete opposite of the book’s beginning, which brings me to the only other fault I can find. I am an avid Dickens fan, therefore I already know much about his early work, the ways in which it was published, and the circumstances of his life. I spent a lot of time during the first portion of the book wondering just when the Carol was going to come into play, and when Standiford was going to start making connections that would make the background information make sense in regards to his thesis. He spends a lot of time covering basic biographical information in a decently good amount of detail.

However, once he really got into the meat of the Carol and its circumstances, I was captivated. It’s such an interesting perspective, and one that I think any fan of the story would appreciate. It’s a plot that nearly everyone has heard, seen, or read in some way, and its themes are recognizable in nearly every nation of the world. To hear the origins of these themes and the opinions of the author himself as well as his closest friends and advisers, is a treat I wish I could savor for every classic work of literature that I love.

The thought struck me, during the writing of this review, that perhaps the reason I found some parts too basic and humdrum, was because I am a scholar of Dickens. I knew this base material coming in to this book, and I think I believed it would begin as if the reader already knew the basics, and immediately proceed to delve into the Carol with fervor and in depth analysis. This book definitely has those things I was looking for, but it is written in such a way that even the most casual of fans could pick it up and understand exactly what Standiford is trying to say. He makes sure that he excludes no one, and that Dickens’ soul is bared to the reader, whether it be for the first time or the hundredth.

I honestly can’t fault him for this. I will caution that at times in the beginning and end it could be a little trying to read through things I already knew, but the story of the Carol itself was fascinating, and I would hazard a guess that I didn’t put the book down at all during that section. It drew me in despite its other shortcomings, and I will always think of it when I begin my Christmas reading each year.

I would give it an enthusiastic 4 stars out of 5. ( )