A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)

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'Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You're poor enough.'

Ebenezer Scrooge detests Christmas. There's no reason to be merry, in his opinion, and certainly no reason to forgo work in order to take part in some foolish celebrations. One particularly vexatious Christmas Eve, he's visited by a ghost and swept along on a fantastical journey examining his past, present and future Christmases, leading him to reflect on his life and the things he holds dear.

Charles Dickens not only created an instant Christmas classic with A Christmas Carol but also popularised many of the traditions and rituals associated with the holiday today. The story has since inspired countless adaptations, including films, musicals and animations.

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced 'Oliver Twist', the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.