Real Life Meets Fiction in A Christmas Carol
‘I have endeavoured with this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.’
Charles Dickens, Preface to A Christmas Carol, 1843
Marley’s Ghost
The opening line ‘Marley was dead... dead as a doornail’, sets the haunting tone for the timeless Christmas novella, A Christmas Carol. The literary masterpiece has captured the hearts of readers for generations, leading to countless adaptations of the work being put into production over the years. The name Ebenezer Scrooge has become synonymous with the holiday season, and his well-known mantra ‘Bah Humbug’, has woven itself into everyday vocabulary for verging on two centuries.
Dickens, being one of the great social commentators of his time, intended for the novella to act as a social commentary for Victorian society as he was disgruntled with the treatment of the poor, particularly poor children. A Christmas Carol came about after Dickens had read the 1843 Parliamentary Report on Britain’s child labourers. Dickens originally intended to write a pamphlet entitled An Appeal to the People of England, on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child, however, he soon realised that it would not gain the traction that he wanted, and the country needed. Inspiration was also drawn from his visit with his sister in Manchester in October of that year, as his nephew Harry, was disabled and it has been stated that he was the muse for Tiny Tim, who ultimately had a happier ending than Harry who did not survive despite Dickens’ best efforts. Furthermore, when Dickens was walking around Manchester, he was appalled by the sites of starving families on the streets due to Britain being in its post-Industrial era and the economic depression that followed.
Scrooge and Bob Cratchit
Not only that but Dickens drew inspiration from his childhood which was awash with examples that could be a part of A Christmas Carol. At twelve years old Dickens walked in the footsteps of the Cratchit family, when his own family ran out of money and he had to drop out of school to work at Warren’s Blacking which was a shoe polish factory. Funnily enough, one of the other boys working at the factory was named Bob Fagin, who became the inspiration for the famed character in Oliver. At the same time Dickens’ father was imprisoned in Marshalsea Debtors Prison for owing forty pounds, and his mother made the decision to go live with his father in prison, taking the youngest children with her. With this information it is evident that Dickens felt akin to the Cratchit family on one hand, but on the other the child within him longed for the sense of family that they had even with their dismal circumstances.
Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in just six weeks and it has been claimed that he did so when he was flâneuring about London at night. In the beginning his publishers at the time, Chapman and Hall, did not have confidence in the plot of the story and due to the decline in sales for Dickens current novel, Martin Chuzzlewit. This meant that Dickens had to essentially self-publish, at great detriment to his bank account, leading to serious financial worries, echoing his childhood. Further worry came from the fact that Dickens had entrusted the illustrations of the novella to his great friend John Leech and whilst he knew that the end result would be just as he desired, it would not be cheap. A Christmas Carol was an instant success and sold out in next to no time. However, despite the success, the production values of the novella were extremely high, including it being a hardbound volume that consisted of a title page printed in colour, four hand-coloured illustrations, and gilt-edged pages. Dickens, however, kept the price of the novella low to buy at just five shillings which meant that the six-thousand copies that were sold as a first edition only resulted in two-hundred and thirty pounds for the author.
Scrooge’s Third Visitor, The Ghost of Christmas Present
With A Christmas Carol Dickens reinvented the way that the holiday was celebrated, a tradition that had been somewhat lost after the Cromwellian abolition of the festive season. He turned the age-old lost tradition of celebrating over twelve days into the family gathering on the twenty-fifth of December that we all know today. The Cratchits, The Fezziwigs, Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and the Ghost of Christmas Present all present Christmas traditions we still follow today. The importance of food is one of the major elements of this, with Mrs Cratchit’s steamed pudding with a blazing brandy across the top. The Ghost of Christmas Present was surrounded by roast turkey, mince pies, plum pudding and roasted chestnuts to name but a few things. The Fezziwigs had a Christmas Eve party with food and dancing, whilst Fred had games galore. At the time in Victorian Britain the first Christmas cards were being introduced and the use of Christmas trees was initiated by Prince Albert who was inspired by his German heritage.
Dickens exploited the Victorians fear and belief in the supernatural, questioned their morality and highlighted the dastardly conditions of the poor, all whilst celebrating the spirit of Christmas. A balance that was no easy feat, but one that Dickens struck seamlessly.
‘And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!’
About the Author
Grace E. Turton is an aspiring historical consultant with an MA in Social History and BA in History & Media from Leeds Beckett University. Grace specialises in British and Italian history but loves reading and researching about all aspects of history. In her free time, you can find her exploring the Yorkshire Dales with her dog Bear, watching classic films and playing rugby league. Grace is passionate about keeping history alive and believes that an integral part of this is maintained through History Through Fiction’s purpose.
