Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Broadway Books (2011), 256 pages
Description
With warmth, wit, and good cheer, Standiford shows how the unlikely success of "A Christmas Carol" revitalized Charles Dickens's languishing career and revived the celebration of the near-forgotten Christmas holiday.
User reviews
LibraryThing member bell7
Charles Dickens had been a publishing sensation in England and the United States, but he was deeply in debt when he wrote A Christmas Carol in only six weeks and took a chance by essentially self-publishing the story. This is the story of Dickens and the Carol, with some history of English
Though short in page count, The Man Who Invented Christmas packs a lot of information in it. I found the bits about publishing and copyright really interesting, and only wish there was a little bit more about the celebration of Christmas. The subtitle is "How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits." It definitely delivers on the first half, but I thought more could have been said on the second. There was some historical information about Christmas, but I was left rather hazy on exactly how A Christmas Carol affected the ways the holiday is celebrated today, and wish more had been said about that. The bibliography may help fill that gap, though, giving me ideas of what to read next.
Show More
publishing and just a smidge about Christmas as a holiday. Mostly, it's the story of Dickens and of A Christmas Carol, which has become one of the best known and well-loved of his oeuvre.Though short in page count, The Man Who Invented Christmas packs a lot of information in it. I found the bits about publishing and copyright really interesting, and only wish there was a little bit more about the celebration of Christmas. The subtitle is "How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived our Holiday Spirits." It definitely delivers on the first half, but I thought more could have been said on the second. There was some historical information about Christmas, but I was left rather hazy on exactly how A Christmas Carol affected the ways the holiday is celebrated today, and wish more had been said about that. The bibliography may help fill that gap, though, giving me ideas of what to read next.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jasonlf
Excellent book. Like a well written novel (not Dickensian though, if you want that read Dickens). It is partly biography (focusing on a narrow slice of Dickens' life surrounding the 1843 publication of A Christmas Carol), partly a history of Christmas, and partly a detailed description of the book
Show More
publishing industry at the time. The subtitle is "How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits" and the book was probably stronger on the first half of this promise than the second. In fact, the defense of Dickens's Christmas role against Washington Irving was a bit of a stretch. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone as a great introduction to the period and the writer and a narrow slice of social history. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Dickens can more accurately be called the man who reinvented Christmas. The focus is the books is, of course, on Dickens's most beloved work and its phenomenal cultural impact but there is also a good deal of fascinating biographical information on Dickens, cultural history, British publishing and
Show More
bookselling in Dickens's time, and a look at how Christmas celebration traditions have changed over the centuries. Interesting, insightful, and enjoyable. Show Less
LibraryThing member richardderus
I am on record for lo, these many years as Mr. Chuckles the Dick's least admiring consumer. In point of fact, I was *FORCED*AT*GRADEPOINT* to read A Tale of Two Cities, unsympathetically held to my teacher's viciously cruel reading schedule (an entire semester! A waste of the hours I could've {and
As a side note, that was the year I received from the Dickensian sister a copy of The Tale of Genji for my birthday, which I consumed in a week, Seidensticker's ponderous translation aside. So no, it didn't go above my head.
Subsequent encounters between me and the all-too-imitable Inimitable...in fact, imitable to the point of self-parody...went no better. A long-ago read of A Christmas Carol at the behest of my misguided sister went poorly enough that we indulged in my "family"'s favorite holiday pastime of screaming at each other. I've watched the filmed versions over the years with a smugly superior, tolerant smirk plastered on my sneering mouth. Yuck. Gooey sentimentality sludged up by being delivered as Orotund Pronunciamentoes lifted whole and entire from Chuckles's turgid prose.
Then a bookish friend watched this film and pronounced herself diverted. I'd had an annoying day. I figured I'd feel better if I snarked at the film while I've still got Prime. Plus, y'know, Dan Stevens.
Eye candy is persuasive when your significant other's away for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. (Hi honey!)
Reader, I married him. I mean, I loved it. I was completely sucked in from the start, I liked the way Stevens presented his Dickens, I was delighted by Mr. Forster, Justin Edwards, Jonathan Pryce as feckless John Dickens was deeply touching. Not one of the women was more than self-moving scenery. The film was lovely, and the story was terrific. How Dickens created the entire concept modern Westerners carry around in their heads labeled "Christmas" is, in fact, pretty damned funny since he was as anti-capitalist an old buffer as there ever was, and this story is flippin' bitterly socialist!
The end credits surprised me: The film's based on a book! Whoopee! So I hauled my gift card over to the Kindle store, bought it, and read it in a sitting. Author Standiford does a creditable job of bringing the stakes of the story's success to life; he then does what the film doesn't and can't, ties it to today's buyfest, though not as tightly as a more polemical writer would have. He does tend towards the happy, shiny people hypothesis...not one I'm naturally in sympathy with...but still, his point was to make Chuckles the Dick's contribution to (I typed "culpability for" at least three times but am compelled to be fair to Author Standiford here) the modern world fit into its context, not critique the context. Others have, and will, do that hatchet job.
So here I am, atheist Yule celebrator and anti-Dickens to my deepest core, praising a book and its superior adaptation to film, and planning to re-watch the film in 2019. Christmas miracles, anyone?
Show More
did} devote to other books!) by my Dickensian-in-all-senses elder sister, and ultimately had an essay demanded of me about these tedious, seriously uninteresting people. As a side note, that was the year I received from the Dickensian sister a copy of The Tale of Genji for my birthday, which I consumed in a week, Seidensticker's ponderous translation aside. So no, it didn't go above my head.
Subsequent encounters between me and the all-too-imitable Inimitable...in fact, imitable to the point of self-parody...went no better. A long-ago read of A Christmas Carol at the behest of my misguided sister went poorly enough that we indulged in my "family"'s favorite holiday pastime of screaming at each other. I've watched the filmed versions over the years with a smugly superior, tolerant smirk plastered on my sneering mouth. Yuck. Gooey sentimentality sludged up by being delivered as Orotund Pronunciamentoes lifted whole and entire from Chuckles's turgid prose.
Then a bookish friend watched this film and pronounced herself diverted. I'd had an annoying day. I figured I'd feel better if I snarked at the film while I've still got Prime. Plus, y'know, Dan Stevens.
Eye candy is persuasive when your significant other's away for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. (Hi honey!)
Reader, I married him. I mean, I loved it. I was completely sucked in from the start, I liked the way Stevens presented his Dickens, I was delighted by Mr. Forster, Justin Edwards, Jonathan Pryce as feckless John Dickens was deeply touching. Not one of the women was more than self-moving scenery. The film was lovely, and the story was terrific. How Dickens created the entire concept modern Westerners carry around in their heads labeled "Christmas" is, in fact, pretty damned funny since he was as anti-capitalist an old buffer as there ever was, and this story is flippin' bitterly socialist!
The end credits surprised me: The film's based on a book! Whoopee! So I hauled my gift card over to the Kindle store, bought it, and read it in a sitting. Author Standiford does a creditable job of bringing the stakes of the story's success to life; he then does what the film doesn't and can't, ties it to today's buyfest, though not as tightly as a more polemical writer would have. He does tend towards the happy, shiny people hypothesis...not one I'm naturally in sympathy with...but still, his point was to make Chuckles the Dick's contribution to (I typed "culpability for" at least three times but am compelled to be fair to Author Standiford here) the modern world fit into its context, not critique the context. Others have, and will, do that hatchet job.
So here I am, atheist Yule celebrator and anti-Dickens to my deepest core, praising a book and its superior adaptation to film, and planning to re-watch the film in 2019. Christmas miracles, anyone?
Show Less
LibraryThing member nosajeel
Excellent book. Like a well written novel (not Dickensian though, if you want that read Dickens). It is partly biography (focusing on a narrow slice of Dickens' life surrounding the 1843 publication of A Christmas Carol), partly a history of Christmas, and partly a detailed description of the book
Show More
publishing industry at the time. The subtitle is "How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits" and the book was probably stronger on the first half of this promise than the second. In fact, the defense of Dickens's Christmas role against Washington Irving was a bit of a stretch. Overall, I would recommend this to anyone as a great introduction to the period and the writer and a narrow slice of social history. Show Less
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
In The Man Who Invented Christmas, Les Standiford provides what he calls "a fireside pleasure of the Fezziwigian type, and not a formal work of scholarship." Nevertheless, what he offers up is as informative as it is interesting and pleasurable. His book is part history, part biography, and even
While I knew a decent amount of Dickens's biography going into this book, I still gleaned a lot of new information from this relatively slim volume. Novitiates to Dickens will undoubtedly gain even more knowledge by reading this. I very much recommend this nonfiction work for its easy-to-digest writing style, which provides lots of details about Victorian England and America and how Dickens both was influenced by and in turn influenced that contemporary landscape - with implications that still reach us today.
Show More
part literary criticism. In describing how Dickens came to write his famous work A Christmas Carol and how that work came to impact later generations, Standiford touches upon Dickens's early life and career, the history of the Christmas holiday and its changing traditions, the progress of publishing standards and copyright laws, and much more. His book is always engaging, although it is a tad repetitive here and there. While I knew a decent amount of Dickens's biography going into this book, I still gleaned a lot of new information from this relatively slim volume. Novitiates to Dickens will undoubtedly gain even more knowledge by reading this. I very much recommend this nonfiction work for its easy-to-digest writing style, which provides lots of details about Victorian England and America and how Dickens both was influenced by and in turn influenced that contemporary landscape - with implications that still reach us today.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LittleTaiko
What a wonderful read for the holiday season. My book club had just finished reading A Christmas Carol so this book came at the perfect time. I have always been a fan of Dickens and enjoyed learning more about his background and the circumstances that caused him to write this book. It was also very
Show More
informative to see how Christmas used to be celebrated and how it has evolved over the years. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes A Christmas Carol. Show Less
LibraryThing member horacewimsey
Attempts to parallel the rise in popularity of Christmas with the popularity of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." The book is filled with interesting facts about Dickens and about the making of "A Christmas Carol," but I don't think it does a great job at paralleling the arcs of Christmas
The physical book is a bit smaller than the average hardback which leads me to believe it was published to make a quick buck at Christmas by allowing itself to be easily displayed on the Christmas table at Barnes & Noble.
Show More
celebration with the life of Charles Dickens. "A Christmas Carol" is quite popular, indeed, but I don't think I've ever heard it said that Charles Dickens reinvented Christmas with it.The physical book is a bit smaller than the average hardback which leads me to believe it was published to make a quick buck at Christmas by allowing itself to be easily displayed on the Christmas table at Barnes & Noble.
Show Less
LibraryThing member George02141
A wonderful biography of both Charles Dickens and the idea that was the genesis of A Christmas Carol. The book explains how our modern ideas of Christmas (outside of the tree and St. Nick) almost directly come from the famous Dickens story.
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
A fairly lightweight (on purpose) book about Charles Dickens and his experiences with A Christmas Carol and other Christmas stories. Enjoyable for anyone who is interested in the topic; I did learn quite a few facts that I hadn't known before.
LibraryThing member Circlestonesbooks
„Eliminate ignorance, Dickens dreamed in his Carol. Eliminate want. A tall order then, and a tall order now.” (Original citation page 226)
Theme and genre:
This book is part a specific biography of Charles Dickens, part a historical overview about live conditions in London around the middle of
But most of all this is the loveable story about one of the most wonderful Christmas books, “A Christmas Carol”, about the idea behind the ghostly story, the realization and what Dickens wanted to tell his readers. He wanted to touch them, making them laugh and cry at the same time and to re-new the Christmas spirit. Which he does until today.
Conclusion:
A non-fiction story, written in a poetic prose, as delightful to read as the original story. A book for everybody who knows values and loves the Seasonal Writings of Charles Dickens.
Theme and genre:
This book is part a specific biography of Charles Dickens, part a historical overview about live conditions in London around the middle of
Show More
the 19th century. It also gives a detailed description and complete overview of literature, writing and of publishing during those times, between family enterprises and booksellers who began to set up the whole production process of their books.But most of all this is the loveable story about one of the most wonderful Christmas books, “A Christmas Carol”, about the idea behind the ghostly story, the realization and what Dickens wanted to tell his readers. He wanted to touch them, making them laugh and cry at the same time and to re-new the Christmas spirit. Which he does until today.
Conclusion:
A non-fiction story, written in a poetic prose, as delightful to read as the original story. A book for everybody who knows values and loves the Seasonal Writings of Charles Dickens.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cyderry
A small little book that my book Club chose for December telling the life of Charles Dickens and how he could never top his first little Christmas season book.
Very informative but at times a bit dry.
Very informative but at times a bit dry.
LibraryThing member dasam
A fine little book with some history of the holiday, some history of book publishing and selling, some biography of Dickens, and some of the spirit of hope that A Christmas carol still gives.
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Does what it says on the tin. I won't say that it doesn't do it well, because I suppose it does. Guess I was just expecting the story to be more interesting. In a nutshell, Dickens was in the midst of financial trouble and experiencing decreased interest in his work and Christmas was a minor
Show More
holiday. He wrote A Christmas Carol hoping to bring some cheer to and inspire goodwill in his audience and generate some much needed cash for himself. The Carol became super popular, set Dickens on a path toward uber-success both popularly and financially, and its publication caused, coincided with, or influenced an increased interest in celebrating Christmas in a more grand style (trees, decorations, cards, presents etc) rather than a nice dinner and little other fanfare. Some interesting info here, and serves as a wee biography of Dickens's middle years coupled with a taste of a history of the celebration of Christmas. Worth reading, but just not the delight I thought it would be. Show Less
LibraryThing member charlie68
Informative and easy to read I breezed through it in a week.
LibraryThing member jfslone
Copy and pasted from my blog:
I picked this book up from the new releases table at Borders because I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens, and with the Christmas season coming up fairly quickly I thought it would be beneficial to read about the origins of one of my favorite Christmas tales. This is a
There are so many things to love about this book, especially for the die-hard fan of classic literature and its authors. There are many anecdotes discussed that link Dickens’ life experiences to his work, and explain why he may have written the things he did. There is also an in-depth look at the symbolism of the Carol, as well as analysis of the reactions of Dickens’ friends and reviewers of the time. All these are things that made the part of me that remembers I hold a degree in history absolutely hungry for more.
There are a few areas I think Standiford could have improved upon before the final publication of this book. Since I’ve just finished it, I think the ending is most fresh in my mind and I can only say I feel it was too short. I feel like I spent so many pages delving into the very heart of the Carol, with so many different aspects dissected and analyzed for my enjoyment, and then the conclusion was almost unbearably quick. After he finishes his analysis, Standiford rapidly discusses the other Christmas books Dickens wrote, followed by a quick succession of other novels, and then discusses his unfortunate demise and death from a stroke. While he does devote the final chapter to summarizing just how important Dickens was to the institution of Christmas and the celebrations we enjoy today, I just can’t shake the feeling that the end was put together much faster than the rest of the book, and meant to tie up as many loose ends as possible without using too many words.
This is interesting, in that it is almost the complete opposite of the book’s beginning, which brings me to the only other fault I can find. I am an avid Dickens fan, therefore I already know much about his early work, the ways in which it was published, and the circumstances of his life. I spent a lot of time during the first portion of the book wondering just when the Carol was going to come into play, and when Standiford was going to start making connections that would make the background information make sense in regards to his thesis. He spends a lot of time covering basic biographical information in a decently good amount of detail.
However, once he really got into the meat of the Carol and its circumstances, I was captivated. It’s such an interesting perspective, and one that I think any fan of the story would appreciate. It’s a plot that nearly everyone has heard, seen, or read in some way, and its themes are recognizable in nearly every nation of the world. To hear the origins of these themes and the opinions of the author himself as well as his closest friends and advisers, is a treat I wish I could savor for every classic work of literature that I love.
The thought struck me, during the writing of this review, that perhaps the reason I found some parts too basic and humdrum, was because I am a scholar of Dickens. I knew this base material coming in to this book, and I think I believed it would begin as if the reader already knew the basics, and immediately proceed to delve into the Carol with fervor and in depth analysis. This book definitely has those things I was looking for, but it is written in such a way that even the most casual of fans could pick it up and understand exactly what Standiford is trying to say. He makes sure that he excludes no one, and that Dickens’ soul is bared to the reader, whether it be for the first time or the hundredth.
I honestly can’t fault him for this. I will caution that at times in the beginning and end it could be a little trying to read through things I already knew, but the story of the Carol itself was fascinating, and I would hazard a guess that I didn’t put the book down at all during that section. It drew me in despite its other shortcomings, and I will always think of it when I begin my Christmas reading each year.
I would give it an enthusiastic 4 stars out of 5.
I picked this book up from the new releases table at Borders because I am a huge fan of Charles Dickens, and with the Christmas season coming up fairly quickly I thought it would be beneficial to read about the origins of one of my favorite Christmas tales. This is a
Show More
non-fiction work, and while it is a biography down to the last word, I found it to be extremely conversational and light reading. There are many different biographies out there on Dickens, but it was interesting to get a perspective based around a specific work. I think this helped Standiford narrow the multitude of facts available on Dickens down to a manageable amount, which contributed to the ease of reading for me.There are so many things to love about this book, especially for the die-hard fan of classic literature and its authors. There are many anecdotes discussed that link Dickens’ life experiences to his work, and explain why he may have written the things he did. There is also an in-depth look at the symbolism of the Carol, as well as analysis of the reactions of Dickens’ friends and reviewers of the time. All these are things that made the part of me that remembers I hold a degree in history absolutely hungry for more.
There are a few areas I think Standiford could have improved upon before the final publication of this book. Since I’ve just finished it, I think the ending is most fresh in my mind and I can only say I feel it was too short. I feel like I spent so many pages delving into the very heart of the Carol, with so many different aspects dissected and analyzed for my enjoyment, and then the conclusion was almost unbearably quick. After he finishes his analysis, Standiford rapidly discusses the other Christmas books Dickens wrote, followed by a quick succession of other novels, and then discusses his unfortunate demise and death from a stroke. While he does devote the final chapter to summarizing just how important Dickens was to the institution of Christmas and the celebrations we enjoy today, I just can’t shake the feeling that the end was put together much faster than the rest of the book, and meant to tie up as many loose ends as possible without using too many words.
This is interesting, in that it is almost the complete opposite of the book’s beginning, which brings me to the only other fault I can find. I am an avid Dickens fan, therefore I already know much about his early work, the ways in which it was published, and the circumstances of his life. I spent a lot of time during the first portion of the book wondering just when the Carol was going to come into play, and when Standiford was going to start making connections that would make the background information make sense in regards to his thesis. He spends a lot of time covering basic biographical information in a decently good amount of detail.
However, once he really got into the meat of the Carol and its circumstances, I was captivated. It’s such an interesting perspective, and one that I think any fan of the story would appreciate. It’s a plot that nearly everyone has heard, seen, or read in some way, and its themes are recognizable in nearly every nation of the world. To hear the origins of these themes and the opinions of the author himself as well as his closest friends and advisers, is a treat I wish I could savor for every classic work of literature that I love.
The thought struck me, during the writing of this review, that perhaps the reason I found some parts too basic and humdrum, was because I am a scholar of Dickens. I knew this base material coming in to this book, and I think I believed it would begin as if the reader already knew the basics, and immediately proceed to delve into the Carol with fervor and in depth analysis. This book definitely has those things I was looking for, but it is written in such a way that even the most casual of fans could pick it up and understand exactly what Standiford is trying to say. He makes sure that he excludes no one, and that Dickens’ soul is bared to the reader, whether it be for the first time or the hundredth.
I honestly can’t fault him for this. I will caution that at times in the beginning and end it could be a little trying to read through things I already knew, but the story of the Carol itself was fascinating, and I would hazard a guess that I didn’t put the book down at all during that section. It drew me in despite its other shortcomings, and I will always think of it when I begin my Christmas reading each year.
I would give it an enthusiastic 4 stars out of 5.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GennaC
I'll be the first to admit that much of the writing of Dickens gives me brain pain, and yet, A Christmas Carol has always carried a special magic. I grew up watching the 1951 film version (featuring Alastair Sim) with my family every Christmas and finally chose to read the original story a few
Charles Dickens, given his immense and lasting influence and his association with all things Victorian, played a major role in transforming a celebration dating back to pre-Christian times, revitalizing forgotten customs and introducing new ones that now define the holiday. Peter Ackroyd and other modern commentators have credited Dickens with having singlehandedly created the modern idea of Christmas, and if that is a grand claim, it is grounded in the facts. If Dickens did not invent Christmas, he certainly reinvented in.
Show More
years ago while living in a mud brick house in rural Tanzania and feeling morose about not spending the holiday season with my family. And, much as Standiford reflects in his charming account, I was truly imbued with a special dose of Dickensian Christmas magic. The Man Who Invented Christmas is the perfect blend of biography, history, and (I'll say it again) Christmas magic as we experience Dickens' harsh childhood that shaped his future writing, follow him through the highs and lows of his literary career, and marvel at how a single story forever changed how we celebrate our arguably most beloved holiday. The snippets of Christmas lore were fascinating, the glimpses of Victorian England thoroughly transported me, and the stories of Dickens himself had me charmed by an author I've always kept decidedly at arms length. An engaging read that offers a brief glimpse into the long history of the Christmas holiday and an appropriately heartwarming understanding of Dickens' most wondrous tale.Charles Dickens, given his immense and lasting influence and his association with all things Victorian, played a major role in transforming a celebration dating back to pre-Christian times, revitalizing forgotten customs and introducing new ones that now define the holiday. Peter Ackroyd and other modern commentators have credited Dickens with having singlehandedly created the modern idea of Christmas, and if that is a grand claim, it is grounded in the facts. If Dickens did not invent Christmas, he certainly reinvented in.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
256 p.; 5.18 inches
ISBN
0307405796 / 9780307405791