Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva

In an attempt to revitalize flagging sales, it is arranged that Dickens will publish a Christmas-themed work just in time for the holidays.

This latter point is brought up time and again by characters chiding Dickens for his ill treatment of one of their favorite characters. Relying on contemporary accounts and a great deal of research, Silva is able to transport readers not only into the soot-covered world of 19 th century England, but directly into the mind of its greatest chronicler.įresh off the disappointment of the serialized Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens is found facing a bleak literary future, his favor having fallen a great deal with his reading public following his initial success and controversial decision to kill of Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop.

Dickens and His Carol as, rather than once again retreading the well-trod path of Dickens’ ghost story, we are granted a (fictionalized) glimpse inside the mind of its creator in the days and weeks leading up to its completion and publication. This date is of particular importance to the narrative of Samantha Silva’s debut novel, Mr. It’s universally-relatable themes of the power of kindness, redemption and forgiveness speaks to the heart of the Christmas season – at least as it has been presented in the 174 years since it was first published in 19 December 1843 - just in time for Christmas. This is, of course, a bit of holiday-themed hyperbole, but the fact remains that the basic premise of A Christmas Carol has become so engrained in our culture that it would seem near impossible to imagine a time prior to its existence. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has been told and retold so many times over the years that, by this point, one might be hard-pressed to find a single soul evenly glancingly familiar with western culture who isn’t at least tangentially acquainted with the holiday classic.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva