title: Stories For Christmas
author: Charles Dickens
description: This prolific collection of favorite Charles Dickens classics is a heartwarming treasure, perfect for the holidays. Assembled here are familiar and welcoming Christmas stories that will awaken warm and exciting holiday memories. <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, for example, juxtaposes fright and warmth as Scrooge learns not only the meaning of Christmas but the meaning of friendship. All of these stories are peppered with the profound characterizations, humor, and quintessential Dickens sentimentality that paint a cherished picture of a bygone era. The nearly 500 pages feature <i>A Christmas Carol</i>, <i>The Chimes</i>, and <i>The Cricket on the Hearth</i> as well as selected Christmas stories from <i>Household Words</i> and <i>All the Year Round</i>. This deluxe edition presents these timeless stories in a beautiful cloth-bound hardcover that makes this piece a valuable edition to any household. <i>--Jacque Holthusen</i>
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  Dear Readers:
  
  Charles Dickens had no idea what he was starting.
  
  When Dickens sat down to write A Christmas Carol in 1843, he did so because he
  thought a Christmas story would ease his financial woes. His last book had not
  done well and his wife was expecting their fifth child.
  
  Dickens worked with an unrelenting passion, and he completed the story in six
  weeks, but not without a certain amount of revision. For example, Tiny Tim was
  originally named Tiny Fred.
  
  A Christmas Carol was released a few days before Christmas and was an instant
  success. And why not?
  
  This is a tale of the true spirit of Christmas. A Christmas Carol has inspired
  readers for more than a century and a half and was my inspiration for this
  book.
  
  Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol are credited with reviving interest in
  nearly-forgotten traditions and the celebration of Christmas.
  
  It is a grand legacy for a writer. And a great gift for the rest of us.
  
  Merry Christmas.
  