A Christmas Carol

by Pauline Francis (Adapter), Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale, first published in 1843, has become one of his best-known stories, and is here retold for younger readers. Ebenezer Scrooge is an old miser who lives alone in his cold house by night and torments his assistant at work by day. One evening, just before Christmas, he is visited by the ghost of his old business partner, Marley—a ghost with a very important warning. Is it enough to persuade Scrooge to change his ways?

56 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

About the author

I love books. I translated them when I lived in Africa – and I worked with them when I was a teacher and a librarian, but I never thought about writing them.

One day, about ten years ago, I decided to become a full-time writer.

My first books were for younger readers. In Drake’s Drummer Boy (1998), Will sails around the world with Sir Francis Drake; in Sam Stars at Shakespeare’s Globe (2006), Sam works with William Shakespeare.

As you can see, the sixteenth century fascinates me. A few years ago, I started to write for older readers, about people who faced very tough decisions in a world that was changing quickly: Lady Jane Grey, in Raven Queen; the lost colonists in A World Away; and the young Elizabeth in Traitor’s Kiss.

What is a typical writing day? I write very early in the morning in a coffee shop. Then I use my computer to re-write and to do my research at home in my study.

I am married with two grown-up children, and I live in Hertfordshire close to London and to Cambridge. I enjoy going to the cinema and the theatre – and anywhere where I can watch other people.

Reviews

[Freddy Lehrke]

I personally did not like this book. The first reason was it was unbelievably boring and hard to pick up on. The reason I say this is because of the old English it is hard to enterpret. Secondly I did like the meaning of the book. When Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy man who cares nothing about anybody else but only cares about his money. Spends his Christmas Eve counting his money. He finally finds out what the true meaning means of Christmas. He stops being so selfish to him self and others. Over all I would not recommend this book to any body else. Because of how hard it is to follow along because of how slow the book is.

[sapphire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/3.5

this version was brief, shorter than the original, and although i felt that the writing was quite a bore for me, now, the essence of the story was still there- imprinted, told with the compassion that exists within when one chooses to fill that part of them.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shorten version of the original classic