Dickens' description of the Nutmeg-Grater Inn in The Battle of Life is enough to make any weary traveler yearn for such a comfortable respite:
At such a time, one little roadside Inn, snugly sheltered behind a great elm-tree with a rare seat for idlers encircling its capacious bole, addressed a cheerful front towards the traveller, as a house of entertainment ought, and tempted him with many mute but significant assurances of a comfortable welcome. The ruddy sign- board perched up in the tree, with its golden letters winking in the sun, ogled the passer-by, from among the green leaves, like a jolly face, and promised good cheer.
The horse-trough, full of clear fresh water, and the ground below it sprinkled with droppings of fragrant hay, made every horse that passed, prick up his ears. The crimson curtains in the lower rooms, and the pure white hangings in the little bed-chambers above, beckoned, Come in! with every breath of air. Upon the bright green shutters, there were golden legends about beer and ale, and neat wines, and good beds; and an affecting picture of a brown jug frothing over at the top.
Upon the window-sills were flowering plants in bright red pots, which made a lively show against the white front of the house; and in the darkness of the doorway there were streaks of light, which glanced off from the surfaces of bottles and tankards.
A Christmas Carol | The Chimes | Cricket on the Hearth | The Battle of Life | Haunted Man
After the success attained
with A Christmas Carol in 1843 Dickens
continued the series throughout the 1840s, maintaining what he called
"the Carol philosophy" to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor,
uneducated, and repressed. In typical Dickens fashion he drove his
message home with a mixture of humor and good cheer. Margaret Lane
points out in her introduction to the Oxford
Illustrated Dickens-Christmas Stories "when he had a pill
to offer he confected it expertly with spice and sugar." Although subsequent Christmas books sold well at the time of their initial release, they have not enjoyed the staying power of A Christmas Carol.
Dickens discontinued the Christmas books after The Haunted Man, devoting his "spare" time to the publication of weekly magazines, Household Words (1850-1858) and All the Year Round (1859-1867), in which he included annual Christmas stories. These Christmas stories, together with the Christmas books, forever linked Dickens with the celebration of Christmas. A Christmas Carol - 1843 Read it online | Buy it at Amazon.com First of the Christmas books and Dickens' most enduring tale. See the A Christmas Carol and Dickens and Christmas pages on this site. The Chimes - 1844 Read it online | Buy it at Amazon.com 
Written while Dickens was living in Genoa, Italy, he confessed that
he missed the inspiration of the London streets. The story centers
around Trotty Veck, a poor ticket porter, whose outlook is converted
from despair to hope by the spirits of the chimes on New Year's Eve.
The Chimes is more topical than A Christmas Carol, citing social problems more specific to the 1840s, it therefore lost some of its relevance after the initial release.
The Cricket on the Hearth - 1845 Read it online | Buy it at Amazon.com 
The story centers on John and Dot Peerybingle whose marriage is threatened
by a wide difference in their ages. When confronted with the possibility
of Dot's infidelity John consults the spirit of the Cricket on the
Hearth whose chirping Dot has said brings luck. The cricket assures
John that all will be well. In the end the misunderstanding is cleared
up and the couple's happiness is restored. The story also features
the Scrooge-like conversion of hard-hearted toymaker Tackleton.
The Battle of Life - 1846 Read it online | Buy it at Amazon.com 
Like previous Christmas books, The Battle of Life centers on
a change of heart, but this time without the aid of supernatural beings.
Doctor Jeddler's daughters make sacrifices in love which convert their
father's cynical view of life. The least popular of the Christmas books, most critics found it flawed. It is a charming little story...until the ending, which leaves the reader feeling like Dickens just didn't have room to develop properly under the constraints of the Christmas book format. The character of Clemency Newcome produces the most enjoyable part of the book, many feel she foreshadowed Clara Peggotty in David Copperfield.
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain - 1848 Read it online | Buy it at Amazon.com 
In Dickens' last Christmas book he returns to the Christmas Carol-like
format that began the series in 1843. Mr. Redlaw is a chemistry professor
tormented by painful memories. He is visited on Christmas Eve by a
phantom, a double of himself, who bestows the gift of forgetting these
painful memories. The catch is that others who come into contact with
the professor also lose remembrance of past hurts and sorrows. Redlaw passes on this gift to members of the Swidger family, custodians at the university. Philip Swidger, 87-year-old patriarch of the family whose present happiness is based on remembrance of the past, is reduced to senility at Redlaw's touch. Likewise, the Cratchit-like Tetterby family, touched by Redlaw's gift, become callous and querulous. In the end the gift is reversed by the inherent goodness of Milly Swidger, whose painful memories of her lost child are the source of her benevolence. The theme of this Christmas book can be summed up in Philip Swidger's refrain "Lord, keep my memory green".
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The Annotated
Christmas Carol
by Michael Patrick Hearn
Anything and everything about Dickens' timeless Christmas story (2003)
Read an interview with the author
A Christmas Carol
Study Guide
by Rebecca Gilleland
A Guide for Using A Christmas Carol in the Classroom
by Judith Deleo Augustine
A Christmas Carol (1984)
George C. Scott
VHS | DVD
A Christmas Carol (1951) Alastair Sim
VHS | DVD
Scrooge (1970) Musical, Albert Finney
VHS | DVD
A Christmas Carol (1999) Patrick Stewart
VHS | DVD
A Christmas Carol (2004)
Kelsey Grammer, Jason Alexander, Jennifer Love Hewitt | Soundtrack
Official
Web Site
The Ghost of Dickens Past (1998)
Fanciful telling of how Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol
The Life of Our Lord
Dickens wrote The Children's New Testament, a simplified version of the life of Christ, for the instruction of his children.
Dickens' Christmas: A Victorian Celebration
by Simon Callow
Beautifully illustrated anthology of Christmas (2003)
A Christmas Carol
The Whole Story
Striking illustrations and background information with depictions of daily home life in Victorian England (2000)
Dickens' Christmas Stories
New Oxford Illustrated Dickens
The Ghost of Dickens Past (1998)
Fanciful telling of how Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol
The Life of Our Lord
Dickens wrote The Children's New Testament, a simplified version of the life of Christ, for the instruction of his children.
Dickens' Christmas: A Victorian Celebration
by Simon Callow
Beautifully illustrated anthology of Christmas (2003)
A Christmas Carol
The Whole Story
Striking illustrations and background information with depictions of daily home life in Victorian England (2000)
Dickens' Christmas Stories
New Oxford Illustrated Dickens
