Thursday 1 December 2011

Review: The Annotated Christmas Carol

The Annotated Christmas Carol: A Christmas Carol in Prose. Charles Dickens (author), Michael Patrick Hearn (editor/annotator), John Leech (illustrations)

Literary scholar (and renowned L Frank Baum expert) Michael Patrick Hearn has painstakingly researched the world of Dickens and Ebenezer Scrooge for this definitive commentary on A Christmas Carol. The notes, in columns parallel to the text of the novella itself, are fascinating in their detail, shedding light on every aspect of the story, its language, and its social and historical context.

It's preceded by a lengthy introduction providing the background on how Dickens came to write it and why. Hearn supplements his essay with plenty of snippets of contemporary material, including quotes, illustrations and artefacts from Dickens's time.

Things you'll learn from this must-have volume: from Dickens's description of the Spirit of Christmas Past, Scrooge is undoubtedly looking at his dip (candle); the Spirit of Christmas Present is none other than Father Christmas, the traditional festive figure of English folklore, rather than the later "Santa Claus" of American myth. Want to know more? Buy The Annotated Christmas Carol from Amazon.com.

1 comment:

  1. Thought you might like my alternative machinima version of A Christmas Carol
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9SBebs3A5I

    ReplyDelete