Michael Patrick Hearn
Anything and everything about Dickens' timeless Christmas story (2003)

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Product Description

Without question, The Annotated Christmas Carol is the most authoritative and entertaining edition ever produced.

What would Christmas be without A Christmas Carol? Charles Dickens's famous ghost story is as much a part of the season as plum pudding and mistletoe, and Michael Patrick Hearn, the celebrated annotator of The Wizard of Oz and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, has now prepared a sumptuous new edition of the Dickens classic. This latest contribution to the Norton annotated series delves into the engrossing history of the book's publication, when it first captivated Victorian England. This is the first edition to combine the original text of 1843 with Dickens's Public Reading text, which had its world premiere in America in 1867 and has not been reprinted in nearly a century. Also included are rare photographs as well as the original Leech wood engravings and hand-colored etchings. These are supplemented by other contemporary illustrations by George Cruikshank, Gustave Doré, John Tenniel, and "Phiz." The Annotated Christmas Carol will be a literary feast for the whole family for generations. 2-color, 100 black-and-white illustrations, and 8 pages of color.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #221203 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
For many people in the 21st century, Dickens's A Christmas Carol has come to define what "keeping Christmas" should look like. And according to Michael Patrick Hearn's superb introduction to this annotated edition of Dickens's beloved classic, that was precisely the author's intention. Dickens feared that encroaching industrialism undermined the traditional values of family, faith and simplicity, and that killjoy Puritans had done away with many of the pleasures of Christmas, so he set out to revive old-fashioned English customs. Hearn's introduction grandly describes the story's enduring popularity around the world (including Dickens's irate but mostly ineffectual attempts to stem the tide of its plagiarism). The annotated edition is enriched by numerous wood etchings, including some from the original 1843 art by Punch cartoonist John Leech. Old Scrooge himself would approve.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Beginning with an introduction that covers the history of the classic tale, Hearn includes a wealth of information on the background of the story as well as a short biography of Dickens. The editor inserts quote after quote from contemporary reviewers, authors, friends, newspapers, and other sources that feature a perspective on the tale. The result is a large, long introduction filled with thoroughly researched information made readily available. The tale itself follows, filled with footnotes and supplementary facts. The addition of many photographs, some of them rare, helps present a realistic view of the writer's world. Wood engravings and hand-colored etchings by the original illustrator, Leech, provide interest and a note of authenticity. Supplemental illustrations by George Cruikshank, Gustave Dore, John Tenniel, and "Phiz" (Halbot Knight Browne) supply glimpses of the other tales and times of Dickens, while some feature more artwork they had done depicting scenes from A Christmas Carol. A reprint of the 1843 text used by Dickens when he read the tale aloud publicly is appended.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Michael Patrick Hearn has written for the New York Times, The Nation, and many other publications. He lives in New York City.

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Customer Reviews

Everyone's favorite christmas story, expanded and expounded.
Of all the annotated classic works, this one is probably my favorite. I like it for a number of reasons. It can be enjoyed in one (longish) sitting. The notations are very informative and well-spaced so as not to take away from the reading of the story. The illustrations are in multiple styles by multiple artists, and they are very intriguing. It has some nice glossy prints including one of the cover of the original edition. It contains two version of the story, one being the public reading version, which is concise and invites you to make it a Christmas tradition at your house. And as with The Annotated Wizard of Oz (Centennial Edition), The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, and others, this looks really good on the shelf. You know you like Dickens. This book will deepen your appreciation of the man, his talent, and this timeless and remarkable Christmas tale.

BEST CHRISTMAS STORY EVER, and Dickens' Most Beloved Work, Reproduced Faithfully
Over the course of my life, I have enjoyed many and sundry versions of A Christmas Carol on screen and stage. But only recently did I finally get around to reading it. To my surprise, it turned out to be a Christian story. I knew it was inspiring, but I never dreamed there were so many Christian references, because only a few of them have survived in the many dramatic productions. (There are actually fifty or sixty different film versions of a Christmas Carol to date. You can read about most of them on the definitive Christmas Carol web site, [...]

The amazing thing about this five-part story, which is one of the shortest of Dickens' works, is that we never tire of seeing or hearing it. We seem addicted to the idea that Christmas can transform us if we let it. In A Christmas Carol, we see the Victorian Christmas we have always dreamed of. In the miser Scrooge, we see the best and worst of ourselves. And in the conclusion to the tale, we see the hope that we, similarly, can be transformed by the Spirit of Christmas.

It's interesting that A Christmas Carol is actually a ghost story. Tim Burton is not too far off in that regard. I suppose Dickens could have used angels; but ghosts fit the romantic sensibilities of his Victorian audience. They also kill any elusions that his audience may have had at the beginning that this would be a religious tale, as well as add a dramatically enticing element to the story. I mean, spirits. That begs the question, are they good or bad? Plus, it fits that a dead man might send spirits back to help a friend, while he may not have that kind of authority over angels. But what were the spirits if not angels, and what are angels if not spirits?

At any rate, it's a wonderful idea for a story - one of the best. Making each of the spirits represent Past, Present or Future Christmases was genius. As I said, it has five acts, the first being Scrooge's former state; the second through fourth, each of the spirits who visit him; and the last his reborn state. He is reborn, you know. I cannot think of a better example of a man who's life has been changed by the Spirit of Christ in the New Birth than Scrooge. It isn't explained that way in the text, but it is implied by how Scrooge describes his change on Christmas morning after his night of visitations:

"I will live in the Past, the Present and the Future! The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob, on my knees!"

What is this, but the attitude and posture of a repentant man. What are the three Spirits, but the Spirit of Christ. What is Heaven and the Christmas Time but Christ in his heart. Other references in the story confirm this.

Then there is the way Scrooge acts after his experience:

"I don't know what to do! I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A Merry Christmas to everybody! A Happy New Year to all the world. Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!"

What is this, but the actions and feelings of a man that has been born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. The 180 degree reversal of Scrooge's nature in the events that follow confirm this.

After this, Scrooge buys a turkey - a gigantic turkey - and sends it to Bob Cratchit's house in a cab. Here's how he felt afterwards:

"The chuckle with which he said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for the turkey, and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy, were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried."

This is sheer joy: the joy of giving, the joy of Christmas, the joy of the New Birth.

I love Scrooge, A Christmas Carol and Charles Dickens. In his famous Christmas tale, Dickens has given us the hope that if Scrooge can change, so can we. And it doesn't take a visit from three ghosts: the source of change is right under our noses. Every year at Christmas time, God reminds us that He has given us the way to change: Christ. Every year, the hope is renewed in the world and in our hearts. Like Scrooge, let us be filled with the Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ. Let's wake up each morning shouting "Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!" and go forth doing the work of Christ.

A word about the historical context of A Christmas Carol, from Wikipedia:

"A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas (commonly known as A Christmas Carol) is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published on December 19, 1843, with illustrations by John Leech. The story was instantly successful, selling over six thousand copies in one week, and the tale has become one of the most popular and enduring Christmas stories of all time.

"Contemporaries noted that the story's popularity played a critical role in redefining the importance of Christmas and the major sentiments associated with the holiday. A Christmas Carol was written during a time of decline in the old Christmas traditions. 'If Christmas, with its ancient and hospitable customs, its social and charitable observances, were in danger of decay, this is the book that would give them a new lease,' said English poet Thomas Hood."

Waitsel Smith

Must Read for True Fans!
For true fans of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens this book is a must read. Patrick Hearn details what Charles Dickens did to get the book published his way and explains the archaic terms in the book so that modern readers can understand the book. I have found it very educational and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys A Christmas Carol. This book will only increase your enjoyment.