Christmas Stories
by Charles Dickens
On This Page
Description
HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.There is probably a smell of roasted chestnuts and other good comfortable things all the time, for we are telling Winter Stories...This heart-warming collection of festive short stories and novellas perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas. Focused on the journeys taken through life and the inherent goodness of mankind, these tales explore the true meaning of Christmas and revel in the joyful season of show more goodwill. Imbued with a moral message, Dickens's writing gives a voice to the plight of working-class families during a period of social and political change in Victorian England.With such tales as 'The Chimes', 'The Cricket on the Hearth' and 'What Christmas Is, As We Grow Older', this is a beautiful collection for Dickens fans, and a wonderful companion for all those who cherish 'A Christmas Carol'. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
As the title suggests, this book is a collection of short stories related to Christmas, including a batch of lesser known of Dickens’s tales. They are written in his elaborate and elegant style, which I always enjoy. My favorite is A Christmas Tree (1850), in which Dickens presents “a lively realisation of the fancies of childhood.”
Other stories include:
What Christmas Is as We Grow Older (1851) – A short essay written after the deaths of Dickens’s father and daughter, this is a poignant reminder of the need for acceptance and understanding.
The Poor Relation’s Story (1852) – A “poor relation” tells a story around the Christmas fire, first a sad story of his life that turns into a more optimistic one, at least in his show more mind.
The Child’s Story (1852) – The narrator relates a parable about an explorer who meets six individuals, representing the narrator’s life from childhood to old age.
The Schoolboy’s Story (1853) – The narrator relates the story of Old Cheeseman, who went from fellow schoolmate to instructor, which created animosity among his former peers. It changes tone by the end (which is set at the holiday break) into one of friendship, where the bad feelings have been overcome.
Nobody’s Story (1853) – A hard-working man has little in material wealth but takes comfort in his family. This one criticizes Victorian society and highlights the needs of the marginalized.
I had not previously encountered any of these stories and this collection was a wonderful read for the holiday season. I always enjoy Dickens’s emphasis on the need for compassion and understanding in our world, a message that continues to be relevant today. show less
Other stories include:
What Christmas Is as We Grow Older (1851) – A short essay written after the deaths of Dickens’s father and daughter, this is a poignant reminder of the need for acceptance and understanding.
The Poor Relation’s Story (1852) – A “poor relation” tells a story around the Christmas fire, first a sad story of his life that turns into a more optimistic one, at least in his show more mind.
The Child’s Story (1852) – The narrator relates a parable about an explorer who meets six individuals, representing the narrator’s life from childhood to old age.
The Schoolboy’s Story (1853) – The narrator relates the story of Old Cheeseman, who went from fellow schoolmate to instructor, which created animosity among his former peers. It changes tone by the end (which is set at the holiday break) into one of friendship, where the bad feelings have been overcome.
Nobody’s Story (1853) – A hard-working man has little in material wealth but takes comfort in his family. This one criticizes Victorian society and highlights the needs of the marginalized.
I had not previously encountered any of these stories and this collection was a wonderful read for the holiday season. I always enjoy Dickens’s emphasis on the need for compassion and understanding in our world, a message that continues to be relevant today. show less
A reread of The Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth. Stories of redemption and recovery. Christmas Carol is the individual (Scrooge), The Chimes is society, The cricket is a fairy tale so is the most light-hearted. Dickens was commissioned to write these Christmas stories. I have not read the last two.
Some entertaining stories and sketches, most with tenuous ties to Christmas. Well-read by the narrator.
Includes A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, and the Cricket on the Hearth
VG condition
Contains "A Christmas Carol, ' "The Chimes, ' and the "Cricket on the Hearth."
Illustrated by Walter Seaton.
Illustrated by Walter Seaton.
A Christmas Carol, The Holly Tree
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
Harold Bloom - The Western Canon: C. The Democratic Age
336 works; 15 members
Christmas Books
370 works; 40 members
Author Information
2,578+ Works 313,139 Members
Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before show more publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Christmas Stories
- Disambiguation notice
- Please do not combine with works containing a different collection of stories. This work includes the stories:
- A Christmas Carol
- The Chimes
- The Cricket on the Hearth
- The Battle of Life
- T... (show all)he Haunted Man
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 715
- Popularity
- 39,528
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 61
