Description: A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost-Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall on 19 December 1843. The novella met with instant success and critical acclaim. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a bitter old miser named Ebenezer Scrooge and his transformation into a gentler, kindlier man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. The book was written at a time when the British were examining and exploring Christmas traditions from the past as well as new customs such as Christmas cards and Christmas trees. A Christmas Carol remains popular--having never been out of print--and has been adapted many times to film, stage, opera, and other media.
Brief description: Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was the outstanding English novelist of the Victorian era as well as a vigorous social campaigner. His most famous works include Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Hard Times, Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers.