19 Dec 2021
On This Day
19 December 2021 Cheryl

19 December 1843: A Christmas Carol is published

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

When Ebenezer Scrooge famously exclaims “Bah! Humbug!” readers are left in no doubt of his feelings about Christmas. Scrooge didn’t originate the term ‘humbug’. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word was first described in 1750 as student slang, meaning “a hoax; a jesting or befooling trick,” as well as any “thing which is not really what it pretends to be,” like a sham or fraud. [1]

One of the most compelling tales ever written, A Christmas Carol is a phenomenon. First published in Britain on 19 December 1843, Charles Dickens’ novella is now inextricably linked to Christmas. It is profound, archetypal, and it touches desires deep within us all for second chances and the opportunity to redeem past mistakes. No other story captures the spirit of Christmas as powerfully as this one.

A Christmas Carol has a simple, linear plot, a fairly small cast of characters, and it is a tale designed not only to make us think and reflect, but to make us feel. The story provides the catharsis of great tragedy without the horror and gloom of a tragic ending. We see Scrooge’s ordeal, begin to identify with him (wouldn’t we all love to see the future consequences of our actions, or be able to rectify past mistakes?). Like Scrooge, we feel cleansed and purified by what happens, we come to see that there could be reprieves. The tale reassures us that change is possible.

It took Dickens six weeks to write A Christmas Carol and the story developed “a strange mastery” over him. As he wrote, he wept and laughed and was so excited by this new story that he kept writing through the night or would walk the streets thinking about its progress. There was some disagreement with his publishers, but Dickens believed so fervently in the power of his new work that he paid for the production of the book himself. Wanting to make it available to the masses, he lowered the cost to 5 shillings, which meant that he made almost no profit.