I hadn't read this since I was a child, so when my local "Connect with the Classics" book discussion group chose it for this month, I looked forward to reading it. I wasn't disappointed. Sometimes when you read books as an adult that you read as a child they lose their magic because your perceptions have changed. I'm happy to say that the magic of Dickens never dies. I reread certain paragraphs over and over again just for the sheer pleasure of his use of adjectives, piling one upon another to create such a vivid picture. The edition I read was illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt, who obviously went to great lengths to match his pictures to the text. I must make a habit of reading this every Christmas!