Top 5 Things You Didn't Know About A Christmas Carol
1. Dickens completed the novel in just 6 weeks. After he began writing the novel he became obsessed and couldn't stop until he had completed it. Dicken's wanted the novel to be released before christmas and it sold out three days after it's release on the 17 December 1843.
2. He enjoyed giving public readings of A Christmas Carol. He enjoyed dressing in evening wear that consisted of a bright dinner jacket and sparkling watch-chain for performing. He would have the stage set up with just a desk and oil lamp, keeping it as natural as possible.
3. Dickens completed two reading tours to America. This would be a standard right of passage for any accomplished author these days, but in the Victorian era, this would have been a huge achievement for Dickens. He earned £19,000 from the second tour, equaling just over £1,000,000 in today's money.
4. On performance days, Dickens would follow a specific and extraordinary diet. For breakfast, two tablespoons of rum mixed with cream. For tea, a pint of champagne. Before performance, a sherry with raw egg in it. During performance, he would sip on beef tea, whatever that is.
5. Dicken began his public readings with A Christmas Carol, and that's where they ended. After carrying out readings of the novel, he has to stop the process due to health failure.
This year, I'm reading A Christmas Carol (again)! As a collector of Penguin's Clothbound Classics (pictured above) I recommend this book to any Dickens fan. It features the classic novel but also includes other seasonal writings, last year I read one short story every night before bed, you can read each with a single mug of hot chocolate.
'Marley was dead, to begin with' - we all know the opening line and the plot, does that mean it's pointless reading it? It's festive and seasonal, the perfect book to curl up with on cosy winter nights in. My love for the novel is equally shared with The Muppets Christmas Carol (featuring Micheal Caine) but pulling out this book in late November has become a yearly tradition for me.
2. He enjoyed giving public readings of A Christmas Carol. He enjoyed dressing in evening wear that consisted of a bright dinner jacket and sparkling watch-chain for performing. He would have the stage set up with just a desk and oil lamp, keeping it as natural as possible.
3. Dickens completed two reading tours to America. This would be a standard right of passage for any accomplished author these days, but in the Victorian era, this would have been a huge achievement for Dickens. He earned £19,000 from the second tour, equaling just over £1,000,000 in today's money.
4. On performance days, Dickens would follow a specific and extraordinary diet. For breakfast, two tablespoons of rum mixed with cream. For tea, a pint of champagne. Before performance, a sherry with raw egg in it. During performance, he would sip on beef tea, whatever that is.
5. Dicken began his public readings with A Christmas Carol, and that's where they ended. After carrying out readings of the novel, he has to stop the process due to health failure.
This year, I'm reading A Christmas Carol (again)! As a collector of Penguin's Clothbound Classics (pictured above) I recommend this book to any Dickens fan. It features the classic novel but also includes other seasonal writings, last year I read one short story every night before bed, you can read each with a single mug of hot chocolate.
'Marley was dead, to begin with' - we all know the opening line and the plot, does that mean it's pointless reading it? It's festive and seasonal, the perfect book to curl up with on cosy winter nights in. My love for the novel is equally shared with The Muppets Christmas Carol (featuring Micheal Caine) but pulling out this book in late November has become a yearly tradition for me.
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