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A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol
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A Christmas Carol
Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

A Christmas Carol

Written by Charles Dickens

Narrated by Paul Scofield

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

This quintessential Christmas tale shows Dickens at his dazzling and provocative best, leaving Scrooge no doubts about the true spirit of Christmas, nor about the perils of ignoring the insistent ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.

Available on digital download for the first time.

This is an ideal Christmas gift, and is packed full of all of your favourite Christmas poems, carols and readings – both traditional and modern.

150 much-loved poems, carols and readings have been hand-picked, and arranged alphabetically so that they can be easily found. Each item is introduced with a brief history to the piece and its author, helpfully placing it in context.

The pieces are also accompanied by a complete set of indexes which detail first lines, themes, Bible references (where applicable) and authors so that the much-loved works are thoroughly cross referenced and can be found with ease.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 28, 2009
ISBN9780007316892
Author

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is the most popular and, many believe, the greatest English author. He wrote many classic novels, including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol. Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities are available from Brilliance Audio.

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Reviews for A Christmas Carol

Rating: 4.373390557939914 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

233 ratings200 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is an okay book, but I don't understand the reason why it made it to the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" list (in fact, I don't understand why majority of the books are in the list). I do accept the fact that some people may have a moment of insight (which doesn't necessarily need to happen in the Christmas holidays) and completely change their personalities in a couple of hours, but I still thought the book was very... forceful in these terms. But then again, this seems to be a book meant to be read by the end of the year, when everybody has that fuzzy feeling within their hearts. Or maybe just to give some hope to children, whatever. This book is not bad. It's not even THAT boring. But I also don't see what's the big deal with it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This feels more like a book Dickens discovered than one that he wrote. Worth re-reading every few years.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A classic holiday tale that I had failed to read all these years! Upon picking it up I assumed it would be boring and dull, given that we simply all know this story by heart. Surprisingly it wasn't that at all! It was alive and interesting in ways I didn't expect, and of course the language and writing style is so beautiful that I could enjoy anything written by him.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Christmas Carol is by far the most well written short story I have ever read. The last time I read this story I came away with a greater appreciation for Dickens' breathtaking skill as a writer. His use of words and phrases and the rhythm of his writing draws you in and the story itself keeps you there.Determined curmudgeon Ebeneezer Scrooge is literally spooked back into humanity after being visited by three Christmas ghosts. Through these uninvited supernatural guests Scrooge is forced into painful self-examination and is given a chilling warning of what will happen if he does not change his ways. Though set during the Christmas season, A Christmas Carol, carries lessons that are applicable for every day. From the first time I read it in my teens until today the overarching message I take away from the story is the importance of relationships in our lives. When we shut out others through selfishness or fear of being hurt we become impoverished regardless of what our bank statement says. A Christmas Carol is a story well worth coming back to any time of the year and is a good reminder of what really matters when we get too caught up in the stresses of the holiday season.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this book for the first time last year and I'm astounded. I wish I had read this book years ago. Dickens is a phenomenal author. Every year at Christmas we watch every version of A Christmas Carol we can possible find.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If all the best qualities were taken from each of the various TV and film versions, and combined together, then that is roughly what we get in the original book. Scrooge’s sarcastic wit, miserliness, and meanness, the door-knocker turning into Marley’s face, the biting cold winter, the merriment of Fezziwig’s ball, Tiny Tim, the classic Christmas traditions, the fantastic spirits, and the ending we all know and love.As a short story of only 90 pages it works very well. Some of Dickens’s writings can be a bit over-detailed and redundant, however this is relatively compact for him, and achieves the impact, the atmosphere, and the character development that sometimes take him a lot longer in other works. Deserving of its central place in the Christmas season.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Scrooge is very cold man and likes money the most. And he does'nt like christmas! But one day,three ghosts came to him,and they took him to christmas of past, present and future.I always enjoy this story. I was surprised to know this story had been written in 1843 and has been popular. This book made feel christmas mood and happy. I think children can learn so much for this classic.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Christmas Carol is Decembers book club choice so ive left it to read over the Christmas period. However also over Christmas on the tv there has been several versions of the classic, from Alistar Simm to The Muppets. My husband I think has watched every one.So sitting down to read the book I felt I had already read it. I have read Charles Dickens twice before and both times have enjoyed but found hard going. This book I found easier. The story is timeless and is the Christmas story that everyone knows.The book is sure to bring out the Christmas spirit when read. I give the story five stars quite easily, I just wished I could have read it before the many versions on tv appeared.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Illustrations by Everett Shinn are a bit weird; his Scrooge looks like an evil elf.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked it. I like the language. It made me slow down and appreciate it. I knew the story, but I was surprised at how much I didn’t know (mostly little things). It was what I would class as a comfort read. I don’t think I would read it every year (but I don’t tend to read books twice) but I will definitely be reading more Dickens.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have seen at least five film versions of this small book and now I have red the book for (at least) the third time. This is the ultimate Christmas story, by the author who practically invented the way Christmas is being celebrated in the western World.
    The greedy man Scrooge who hates everything around him, meets four ghosts before Christmas and changes completely. That is the simple story, but nobody could have written it down like Dickens did. Five stars, without the slightest reservation.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I pick up these graphic novels out of curiosity to find out how these are done. This is first and most popular "Christmas book' by Dickens. It was pretty much a fast read - done in 20 minutes at most. Bright artwork and precise story-telling.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    review A Christmas Carol is remarkably shorter than I would have guessed and had I known, I would have fit it in earlier. The story is an incredible journey of transformation of heart, all within a couple of hours read. Lovely!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    ISBN 1550660012 - An adaptation of Charles Dickens' tale from Amoco (yes, the oil company) and Madison Marketing Unlimited. One of a series of four, including Good King Wenceslas, The Snow Queen and Mole's Christmas Welcome. Since I collect Christmas books, I'm always happy to find another one. Ebenezer Scrooge is a terrible miser who works his clerk, Bob Cratchit, very hard. Even on Christmas Eve, the seventh anniversary of the death of Jacob Marley, Scrooge's partner, Cratchit sits at his desk in the cold, working - because Scrooge has no Christmas spirit whatsoever. At home that night, Marley appears to Scrooge and warns him of what will happen to him if he doesn't change his ways. Marley says three spirits will visit him and Scrooge should listen to them. One after another, the spirits of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come visit, showing Scrooge the error of his ways. He awakes in the morning, thrilled to not have missed Christmas, and begins to change by doing an anonymous good deed for the Cratchit family.It is difficult, as an adult, to fairly review a book like this. I've spent decades seeing movies and books of this story, ranging from absolutely fantastic to cringe-worthy. I know the details of the original and see immediately what is lacking (his nephew, his interaction with the Cratchits, etc). This book isn't for me, or the other parents who know the story; it is for the very young reader (ages 3-6) who won't know the original and so won't miss the missing details. For them, it is probably a better book than it is to me. The (uncredited) illustrations are okay, but not the sort I'd think would appeal to kids. The last page contains a bit of information about Dickens, which I found to be a nice touch but again, unlikely to appeal to kids. Not the best kids' edition of this classic.- AnnaLovesBooks
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Being my first Dickens, I won't be shying away from him just yet, but I figured I'd start with a short one first. Most of us already know the story of A Christmas Carol. There are so many adaptations of it in the modern world that it's hard to escape it. When looking at the story itself, I might think to have given it almost 5 stars. But that's not all that goes into writing a book. If I had the option, I would have cut a majority of what was written into this book. Dickens seems to like listing off anything and everything, whenever he can. When establishing the setting of a scene, he wrote on and on about various things, but by the time he got back to moving the story forward, I'd given up on caring where it was set anymore. At least the dialogue was strong enough.

    So I'm torn between the story and the writing style for this one, and I predict it'll be the case in any future Dickens I try out. I might be surprised though. Time will tell. Maybe the thick books I have on my shelf isn't the author being long winded and stretching out a story for no reason. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Re-read this month for a book club, along with four other Charles Dickens stories. Reading all the stories so close together, the thing that struck me most is how much Dickens is on the side of the poor and often points out the hypocritical attitudes of the Victorian establishment towards them.In this story, Scrooge berates the Ghost of Christmas Present saying that people are campaigning for the bake houses to be closed on Sundays, thus depriving the poor of a hot meal on Sundays, and the Ghost says although people claim to be doing it in his name, they are nothing to do with him.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've read this a couple of times. Dickens was paid by the word & writes like it. He spends way too much time digressing into idiotic areas & filling up space. Example: "Marley was dead, dead as a door nail, although why a door nail should be deader than a coffin nail..." or something like that & goes on about it forever. Never does come to a conclusion - the proper one being a door nail is dead because it was hammered through the door & clinched on the opposite side, hence is dead. Coffin nails are hammered straight in, hence can move with the wood. His stories are classics, but I detest his writing style. Probably worth reading once.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A classic tale of human values and morality, set in the midst of everyone's favorite holiday season. Dickens manages to weave a tale that speaks to those of every generation and location. It's a quick read, but don't be fooled, it's jam-packed with heartfelt emotion and wonderful language.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A Christmas Carol defines the best parts of Christmas. I’m a huge fan of Christmas, but not so much about the mall shopping or online sales or that kind of stuff. More about the parts where we all agree (in theory) to be a little more patient, a little more cheery, a little more forgiving, and a little more generous with ourselves and one another. And the possibility that we can take those traits into the rest of the year as well. This story hits those themes hard. Scrooge is so delightfully miserly at the beginning. He begrudges his clerk a holiday on Christmas day. He refuses to give to charity because his tax dollars already go to welfare programs. He actually says that the death of the poor will help with the surplus population! Jeeze, what a jerk. But people put up with him because he’s rich. Any other reason? There doesn’t seem to be, and we realize later that no one much likes him at all, even the businessmen he works with. What we learn about Scrooge through his experiences with the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Be is that he’s pathetic. For all his industry and his keen business savvy, he’s something that inspires nothing but pity in us. He earns money, but he doesn’t spend it on anything to make himself or anyone around him more comfortable. Money for money’s sake, but at the expense of human connections. In his mind, he’s superior to everyone; but to everyone, he’s a pitiful wretch. Of course, what makes this such a great story is Scrooge’s dramatic turnaround. Maybe he can’t get back everything he’s lost for his love of money, but over time he can repair a lot. He goes from being the most ungenerous, bitter, greedy person on Earth to becoming the epitome of generosity and good will all year round. Sound like too much? That’s just the magic of Christmas.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A popular favorite and deservedly so.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    received for Christmas from my parents 1957
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was so much fun to finally read this classic. I have seen it as a play and in several versions of television Christmas special, but of course the original book wins the prize!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a book that a man who did not like a chrismas day and very cold person change to a very kind person.Tree goust help him to change.I thought to be kind person is very important thing. so I want to be a kind person.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The classic Dickens tale of Scrooge and Marley, in which Charles Dickens set out to create a Christmas tradition...and succeeded, if our current December madness is any indicator. This tale remains popular because it is at once heartwarming and grim, painting a picture of a world that Dickens chose to chastise his whole life for not taking care of those that lived and worked in obscurity and poverty. The picture of courage, represented by the Cratchits, particularly Tiny Tim, is an attractive one, compelling us all to reexamine our own lives and determine if there is some way we can overcome our personal obstacles with half as much grace and dignity.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There's not much to say about this book that hasn't already said by many others (and said better than I am capable of). Obviously, it's a great book. It's a classic for a reason. That said, this was my first foray into Dickens, and two things struck me about this book:

    1.) I was genuninely shocked to realize that Dickens had a sense of humor! I chuckled out loud a couple of times. For some reason, I expected this to be a very serious book, and it really was not.

    2.) I was also genuninely shocked by how closely the movie adaptations follow the book...something that never happens. Granted, this is such a short book, it's easy to remain true to it. But even the Mickey Mouse version is pretty darn accurate!

    It was a great read for our December bookclub meeting...festive AND short. Glad I finally got around to reading this one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Just finished my annual rereading of this classic. This book has been done and redone for movies and TV, so that it's almost become a cliche. I can't tell you how many different TV movies on Lifetime, ABC Family, and Hallmark Channel are rewwrites of this book. I'm not spoiling anything here by revealing the plotline. Scrooge, the old miser, gets a visit from his old partner, then from spirits of Christmas past, present, and future. After all this, he's a changed man. The power of this book is in the description of the characters and the scenes. It makes Victorian England c. 1843 come alive, something that the TV movies don't do. The spirit Scrooge fears most is the future. The past is secure. However much he hates what happened, it's already happened. The present is where he is. He's used to that. It's the future that is the unknown. It's especially scary when he finds out he's dead and no one cares. That's what shocks him into change. Read the original book, and find out why this is a classic.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Better than watching all the movie and play variations.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great classic that every kid needs to read. I learned about this for the first time in like the third grade when we did a play of it, and I loved it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What better way to get oneself into the Christmas Spirit than by reading THE Christmas story?Think about how many times this tale has been told and retold, adapted to stage and screen, and even used in multiple television shows for that one-off Christmas episode the writers just weren't in the mood to be original on (kidding... sort of...). It all comes back to Ebenezer Scrooge and the Christmas he was visited by three spirits (four counting his former business partner, Jacob Marley). A visit that would leave him greatly changed for the better. I think one of the reasons the story resonates so well is it has the power to remind us of the worst parts of ourselves as human beings, and makes sure we know there is still time to fix things if we need to. And, among other things, be kind.After this year (2016), I know that I for one needed the message Dickens provides in this classic, so I'm definitely glad I decided to read it again this particular Christmas season.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A delight to re-visit this classic Christmas story.