Only Scrooges don’t love Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, his most famous work. Published on December 19, 1843, the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By Christmas of 1844, thirteen editions had been released and the book still has never been out of print. It is Dickens’ most popular book in the United States. By 1944, over two million copies were sold in the United States alone.
For those who don’t know (which will be no one), it tells the story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Yet to Come. After being visited (spoiler alert), Scrooge is transformed into a kind man.
Fun facts: The phrase “Merry Christmas,” is because of the novella. He started writing the novella only six weeks before it was published. And if you really want to get into the Dickens Christmas spirit, A Christmas Carol isn’t his only holiday-themed work. In fact, he wrote a total of five small Christmas books.
Related: 12 Christmas Novels for Scrooges
