Mr. Dickens and His Carol

“Flee all you like,” she said, turning to face him. “Your past is quicker than you are and will catch you soon enough.”

Initially, I was drawn to this book by its lovely cover. Then I opened it and was instantly drawn in by its beautiful prose, witty lines, and heart-felt story.

If you, too, like these things, along with lovable, flawed, quirky characters (including ghosts!), surprising twists, and an uplifting story of hope and humanity, this book is for you. It’s a charming, entertaining new take on the inspiration and events leading to the deliverance of a Dicken’s classic.

I really enjoyed this story - a classic unto itself. The author does an excellent job of giving us a fantastical glimpse into the muses and catalysts for some of the greatest stories ever written.

Enjoyable quick read that leads to discussion of the actual Christmas carol, the Dickensian age and how to write historical fiction.. Fun for book club.

Was kinda slow in the beginning but after part 2 I absolutely loved this one. Definitely worth the read.

Reading this book at Christmas time when "A Christmas Carol" is always a must to either read or watch, really set provided some lovely, though fictional, context to how the individuals in Dickens life came to play a part in "A Christmas Carol". We get to see how to Dickens Christmas is a time of extravagance given that his wife Catherine is planning an enormous party laying out the start of the inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge character. I found it humorous that Dickens based Jacob Marley on a young man with the same name who mistakenly took Dickens for William Makepeace Thackeray, who is know for his novel Vanity Fair. Dickens vows to ensure to use this young man as a character in his book and ensure he is dead. Dickens young brother Fred is the inspiration for Scrooge's nephew, and we see the young son of a woman called Eleanor that Dickens has an affair with, become Tiny Tim. The style of writing in this book is brilliant and flows so easily for the author. I could hear the british accent in my head as I was reading the book. Also, the detailed descriptions of the poverty and gray world that London was at the time comes through very vividly. I enjoyed this book immensely even though Christmas is not my favorite time of year, Mr. Dickens and His Carol has become my favorite Christmas story.