I went out to dinner with friends this evening (standing monthly get-together), so I am sneaking my Advent book in under the wire -- which is hilariously ironic, considering that I bragged to one of those very friends that I had been listing Advent books for two whole days without a gap!
Whatever. I had a great time tonight -- thanks, ladies!
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Today's Advent book is The Cricket on the Hearth, by Charles Dickens. This novella is one of Dickens's five Christmas stories (the most famous, of course, being A Christmas Carol). I always liked this one, which centers on a poor toymaker and his blind daughter. The plot is very Dickensian -- so you should keep that in mind; you will encounter lots of conniving trickery and misunderstanding on the way to forgiveness and redemption. Of course the miser sees the error of his ways at Christmas time, and true love conquers all -- except for the blind girl. The Victorians wouldn't have stood for that.
This would be a great story to be read aloud (the best way to read any Dickens); I don't know if it will hold the interest of very young children, but the rest of the family will love it.
I did not know there were five Dickens Christmas stories. I will be looking for this one and the others. I have read "A Christmas Carol" aloud to my daughter, starting when she was about 12. We don't always get it finished, but it's a delight to read any of it outloud.
ReplyDeleteThese are the five Dickens Christmas novellas: A Christmas Carol (1843); The Chimes (1844); The Cricket on the Hearth (1845); The Battle of Life (1846); The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain (1848). In addition he published several short stories with a Christmas theme, published in magazines and periodicals. My two favorites are A Christmas Carol and The Cricket on the Hearth.
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