Monday, December 16, 2013

Series of the Month: The Complete Works of Charles Dickens

"Marley was dead, to begin with. There was no doubt whatever about that." - A Christmas Carol

As the author of one of the most well-loved (and oft-retold) Christmas stories, A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens remains inextricably linked in our minds to the holiday season. Who can help but think of Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts that visit him, reminding him of the spirit of Christmas and kindness? Every holiday season this beloved tale is broadcast on television, presented on stage, and read by fireside. It's a quintessential holiday text that has inspired many a disgruntled person to utter the phrase "Bah! Humbug!"

A Christmas Carol remains one of the most popular Dickens adaptations despite the fact that it's one of Dickens' slighter works; as a novella, it's quite a bit shorter than the average Dickensian epic. But did you know it's not the author's only Christmas tale? Two entire volumes of The Complete Works of Charles Dickens are devoted to his Christmas stories. The volume entitled "A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Books" includes: A Christmas CarolThe ChimesThe Cricket on the HearthThe Battle of Life, and The Haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain. The volume simply called "Christmas Stories" includes tales Dickens originally published in his own magazines, including: The Seven Poor Travelers, The Holly-tree Inn, The Haunted House, The Schoolboy's Story, and What Christmas Is as We Grow Older."
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!"   - A Christmas Carol
It's in celebration of Dickens's endearing and enduring work that we chose The Complete Works of Charles Dickens as our Series of the Month for December. This month we celebrate Dickens' incredible talents as the author of some of the world's most beloved and well-known novels. We celebrate a man whose works remain foremost in the popular imagination, continually serving as a source for adaptation to stage and screen. Indeed, the grandiose scope of his works practically beg for film and stage adaptations, as these stories remain relevant and compelling: themes regarding man's struggle to be good, the cruelness of class struggle, and a person's desire to belong remain as relevant today as they were in Dickens' Victorian London.
"Welcome, old aspirations, glittering creatures of an ardent fancy, to your shelter underneath the holly! We know you, and have not outlived you yet." - What Christmas Is as We Grow Older

The Complete Works of Charles Dickens is a 30-volume set reproduction of the original edition, complete with original illustrations, in affordable paperback or beautiful hardcover. This essential collection is available as a wonderful gift set or by individual volume. 

Please contact us today for a special discount of 20% off the list price for the full set, or purchase your particular favorites by volume at Amazon or Barnes & Noble online.

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