Dickens was a genius

So I am convinced after watching a myriad of Christmas Carol adaptations this year (of which my favorite is, of course, the Muppets). How many adaptations are there? Movies and TV show episodes add up to over fifty, though there may be many more. There are plays, an opera, books...Dickens's structure has been imitated so often it feels almost cliche. And yet, before Dickens, IT DIDN'T EXIST. He done thunk it up all himself.

Of course he had influences: fairy tales, Washington Irving, Shakespeare, the Greeks, etc. He read, he listened, he took those elements of story and human nature that existed out there and wove something entirely new. IT's such a familiar story that I forget sometimes to give credit to the man who made it happen. I also read somewhere that Dickens, who was concerned about the state of the poor in Victorian England, meant to write a political tract encouraging people to do something about it. He changed his mind and instead wrote the novella The Christmas Carol, convinced fiction could do far more to inspire. 150 years later his story is still vibrant. I doubt we'd ever see a Muppets version of the essay on caring for the poor.

One of the things that fascinate me about The Christmas Carol is that we think of it as a feel-good tale, because of the ending. But of course it is actually a horror story. It's a haunting. Ghosts visit a man and scare him nearly to death. Some of them are really quite frightening, while the others are disturbing at best. The main character sees horrific and sad things. This is a visceral and psycological horror tale that Dickens coupled with Christmas and made up his own slipstream genre that resonates a hundred and fifty years later. Like Shakespeare and Austen, Dickens wrote a story that can be retold again and again, remain relevent and not get tiresome. Genius, my friends.

And as Gonzo says at the end of the movie, "If you liked this, you should read the book."

Comments

[Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams]

I love the story of A Christmas Carol - though I really, really love the Muppet version. :) And you're right - I don't think an essay on caring for the poor would have endured the way this story has.

[Megan J.]

I love reading the book every Christmas! You're exactly right - it's a perfect blend of ghosts, redemption, and Christmas!

[Emily's Reading Room]

The Muppet one really is the best. My dad favors the George C. Scott version, but I thought that Michael Caine did such a fantastic job as Scrooge. Plus, the music is great.

My husband and I read the Novella over four days and really enjoyed it. Dickens has a very subtle sense of humor that I wasn't expecting.

[Jen]

I was thinking along similar lines this year. Dickens was so brilliant, and I love the written story so much. I used to read it every year. I should start that again.

[Allison Madsen]

Nicely put! Yes the Muppet version is the best by far!

[Christen]

Yes! The muppet version is my FAVORITE. :D

[Darsa]

I adore the Muppet version, too. I think my favorite, though, is the musical version I saw in NYC several years ago. Quite brilliant.

I tried to watch the newer, animated Jim Carey version with my kids... it was too scary for them! I had forgotten how frightening the story really is, having only seen the Muppet and Mickey Mouse version in recent years.

[Melody]

The Muppet Christmas Carol is an annual Christmas Eve tradition in my house. I love it so very very much!

[Amanda Norr]

I think I read it once, and will have to do it again. Right now I am reading a Tale of Two Cities. He was a great writer.

[Mikkay]

I quite like the recent Doctor Who interpretation of the tale as well!

[The Weed]

I have never, not once, told a ghost story at Christmas time even though the tradition of doing so appears in that one Christmas song whose name I can't remember but Amy Grant does a version of it and it's in my head.

BUT, I really like that you pointed out that A Christmas Carol IS a ghost story. Because I'd never really thought of it that way.

And yes, he certainly was a genius.

[Jenny]

I love the Muppet version. Michael Caine is a fabulous Scrooge. What I like even better is Patrick Stewart's audiobook reading of it. My kids and I were absolutely entranced.

[Amber]

The Muppet version is great but Scrooge will always be a duck and Bob Cratchit a mouse in my mind! I wonder what Dickens would have thought of these cartoon versions of his stories?

[Chels]

Amen. The muppet version is tradition at our house, and I just bought a book version gorgeously illustrated by P.J Lynch that I wholeheartedly recommend.

[Je Reve]

I love this post! My mother dislikes this story purely because of all the remakes, but I think it's lovely! Go Kermit!

[Renae]

Because I read/acted out one of the play versions with 7th graders for YEARS, I both loved and loathed this story because of the very reasons you stated - repeated to the point of being cliched. However, I did learn that Victorians often told ghost stories at Christmas time. Not sure why, but there you go. AND remember the line from "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year":

"There'll be much mistle-toeing, and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near...

"There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago...."

[Jenn Sim]

I watched the play at the Hale Theatre in Orem with my family this Christmas. They did a wonderful job. My sister-in-law had to keep reminding my 8 and 6 year old nephew and neice that there wouldn't be any muppets in this version. They seems to like it well enough but that may be due to the chocolate coins Scrooge threw right at them at the end.
I love Dickens. David Copperfield is my all time favorite. I've never read A Christmas Carol because I've seen so many versions. I'll have to give it a try. Listening to Patrick Stewart read the audiobook sounds wonderful.

[Emily]

I love "A Christmas Carol" (especially the Muppet version!) and my husband and I read it together every year.

Dickens and Christmas just go together for us because we also read his "The Life of Our Lord" with our kids every year at Christmas too. It's his retelling of Christ's birth and life which he wrote just for his children (it was published after his death). It's very lovingly written; you should check it out.

This is a link to what LDS church president Gordon B. Hinckley had to say about "The Life of Our Lord" : http://lds.org/ensign/1994/12/to-do-good-always?lang=eng

Anyway...love Dickens. Definitely a genius.

[Nancy]

I think the Muppet version uses more actual text from Dickens than any other version. I love Gonzo as Dickens.

I haven't seen the new one with Jim Carey yet. Is it any good?

[Allegra]

There are so many good versions of A Christmas Carol that it's hard to decide which one is my favorite! I love the Muppets version, too, and I enjoyed the recent computer-animated one with Jim Carey. The original book is one of my favorite classics of all time.
You're right-- A Christmas Carol does have all of the elements of a horror story, though we rarely think of it that way. When I was younger, the part where Marley's Ghost dropped his jaw scared me an awful lot. So did the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, of course. But, the feel-good ending always makes up for it!

[Emily G]

Unrelated, but I have been reading through your book recommendations and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

However after having gone through most of the mystery/English Gothic books you suggested made me wonder if you had read The Thirteenth Tale. It is just a few years old and a masterpiece. I recommend it to everyone and have yet to find anyone disappointed. If you haven't read it it would be a nice addition to your research. (BTW also jealous that reading these books count as research for you!)

[Alexandra Wood]

Yes!!! Where would we be without Dickens. His stuff is great. Especially the Christmas Carol. I was just watching a play my cousins and I did, it was a short retelling of The Christmas Carol. It is a great story to do each Christmas.

[Miriam]

The Doctor Who special was great this year.

My dad always says that Dickens invented Christmas. I mean, Jesus, yes, but his birth got moved, didn't it? And all the traditions afterwards. But somehow, Dickens was the one that made it matter, made it what it is today.

[Raindrops]

I love Christmas stories. They all ways give a good lesson of why we have Christmas cheer:)

[MelissaPete]

They say there are no new ideas, but at one time there were! I totally agree!

[gracie]

Dickens was DEFINITELY a genius.
He could write a story so different from what anyone could come up with, one that would stay strong for generations and generations. It's so strange to think that before A Christmas Carol was written, there was none. Dickens came up with a tale that is so perfectly put together and planned out, not even the brightest brain on this earth would ever think of it.
It's not just a classic, it's a tradition, for many families I'm sure.
Never forgotten, this golden lesson goes right along with the other Christmas tales: Home Alone, A Christmas Story, A Miracle on 34th Street, and all of the bests.
Last of all,this story leaves you on a life-changing note, making a far better impact on you than an essay ever could. (Gives you a good idea of a possible resolution you could make for the soon to come New Year, 2011!!)

[Brianda]

Wow I know Dickens wrote the story, but it never occured to me that there was life without a Christmas Carol. Silly, but it is almost as mind boggling as life without electricity. Huh, how did people do it?

[Krystal]

Thanks for this post! I've enjoyed it and learned from it. I've only seen the Muppets version of A Christmas Carol. It's our family tradition to watch it every year. For Christmas this year, we got the P.J. Lynch illustrated book and I decided to read it (for the first time). It surprised me that most of the book is in the movie.

[Melanie]

I've always wanted to read "A Christmas Carol", but have never gotten around to it until this year. I just have to say that it is one of the most beautiful pieces of English literature. Mr. Dicken's beautiful descriptions and metaphors are poignant and eloquent; the story has so much more to it than is shown in any of the movie reproductions (though Muppet Christmas Carol comes closest to capturing the pure essence of Dicken's delightful narrative--and happens to be my favorite Christmas movie of all time).

[Jen T]

I had never offically read the real "A Christmas Carol" until this year. It was very good. Dickens is amazing!

[yaks]

WOW!!!

So many variations and adaptations to A Christmas Carol! I absolutely love the story too and I only saw 2 variations!

[Nerdeym]

The Muppets version is still my fave as well--though my eight year-old will have nothing to do with it! We tried it on the kids last year and had to promptly eject the DVD at the scene when the door knocker starts grimacing; it was just that scary for them! (In a few more years they'll love it!)

I still get the song Marley & Marley stuck in my head months after Christmas has past.

Shannon, I know you are one busy woman, but I still am dying to know if you have read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate?! I gave copies to two of my closest friends for Christmas and just heard that they are both gobbling it up! JOY! What a fun read.

Oh, that cozy feeling of reading a book in bed in the middle of the winter when it's freezing outside and you're snuggled up with a fabulous escape of someone else's wonderful imagination!

I haven't been on squeetus in a while--what with the holidays, and then a lovely little bout of 10 days of the "para influenza" for five of the six of our family--so I hadn't seen a photo of the twins in a while.

That latest pic with the Wonder Twins shirt is the bomb--so darling are those girls!

Well, I'm off to get back in the writing habit. (Whenever I've been off track for a while, I stop here first for a little booster dose in the arm of inspiration. Thanks for always doing the trick!)

[Esther]

So glad that the Patrick Stewart cover is posted here. It's the best version of A Christmas Carol that I've ever seen. I recommend it to everybody. I promise that you will love it...and if you don't, you have no soul. No pressure though. ;)

[JennR]

I SO agree with this!