“he knew how to keep Christmas well”

Find out how Dickens came to write his best-remembered work, what his sources of inspiration were, how it helped shape the way we celebrate Christmas, and the amazing impact that the novella about Scrooge and the three ghosts had on generations to come. Watch my video talk and download my printable Reader’s Guide to Charles Dickens & A Christmas Carol.

Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol during a period of intense activity during the autumn of 1843, completing the work in just 6 weeks. He appears to have made no working notes, drafts or even an outline, leaving just the complete 68-page manuscript. Flick through the pages of a facsimilie and read the manuscript for yourself.

A Christmas Carol has had a huge impact on the way we celebrate Christmas today, beginning with how we greet others. Let’s take a festive journey into the mind of Charles Dickens with these interesting facts about A Christmas Carol. Just for fun.

By joining Gold Class Book Addicts, you have acknowledged your addiction to books. But are you 100% addicted, as I am, or not quite at that extreme stage of addiction just yet? I’ve prepared a little test kit so you can work out where you fit. This 15-page literary puzzle book should keep your mind ticking over during the summer holidays. Print it out, take it to the beach or away on holidays and don’t forget your pen. Tell me how you go with completing the puzzles.

And I haven’t forgotten the young people in your life. I’ve created a lovely series of 7 printable colouring pages, all with a festive bookish theme and a literary Christmas quote. Print them for your children or grandchildren to colour in at home, send them to your child’s school for a class activity, email to friends and relatives, share them on social media, and spread them far and wide to share the joy of a literary Christmas.