The How of A Christmas Carol and the Why of Scrooge
You’ve read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. You’ve seen A Christmas Carol where Scrooge has been portrayed by George C. Scott, Jim Carrey, Kelsey Grammar, and Bill Murray among many others. Every year it’s the same thing.
This year doesn’t have to be.
I mean, definitely and dutifully read A Christmas Carol again this year. Watch your favorite version of the movie.
After that, try something different.
Here are two really creative imaginings revolving around A Christmas Carol. Notice I said “revolving AROUND.” Neither of the novels listed below are just A Christmas Carol retold. Samantha Silva and R. William Bennett have imagined and created new worlds for the author and the characters. Silva goes behind the scenes. She imagines how the story came to life by following Dickens himself. Bennett weaves an origin story for Jacob Marley. For without Marley, why would Scrooge become the beloved character we know from A Christmas Carol?
Mr. Dickens and his Carol
· By Samantha Silva
· Audiobook Narrated by Uan Morton
How did Charles Dickens come up with such an irascible character as the curmudgeonly Ebenezer Scrooge? That is precisely the topic Samantha Silva tackles in the brilliant MR. Dickens and His Carol. People are told to write what they know so it only makes sense that Dickens would only be able to write with empathy and want to heal Scrooge if he had once been a Scrooge as well. Silva’s book is full of the nuances and charm of the Victorian era. Mr. Dickens is rich with biographical information and nods to other Dickens’s novels. The writing is so detailed it is hard to remember this is a work of fiction.
Jacob T. Marley
· By R. William Bennett
· Audiobook Narrated by Simon Vance
R. William Bennett takes his readers back before Scrooge to a time when Marley was the focal point of his own story. Because where would Scrooge be if Marley hadn’t turned out the way he had. Bennett creates a beautiful world for Marley to grow up in and meet his future business partner. Bennett then continues Marley’s story into Scrooge’s story, but this time the readers see the world through Marley’s now ghostly eyes.
To Wrap Up
If you love A Christmas Carol and now can recite it by heart, take another look from a different angle. Samantha Silva creates a Victorian London Dickens himself is proud to walk around in. Bennett’s origin story for Marley gives plausible reasons why Marley shaped Scrooge as he did. Both novels do well in paying attention to Dickens’s style, atmosphere, and details from his original. Silva and Bennett just give you more to contemplate about the beloved characters you thought you already knew.
