Customer Reviews

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge

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I can count the number of books I have read in one sitting on the fingers of one hand, and this book is one of them. This magnificant novel takes off where Dicken's A Christmas Carol left off. This beautifully written and fast paced book presents the compelling story of God's trial for the soul of Ebenezer Scrooge, offering Tiny Tim as his defending attorney. Skillfully drawning upon meticulous historical research, Bueno de Mesquita establishes the counterintuitive argument that perhaps Scrooge, and thus Dickens, may have been misunderstood. Part mystery concering the outcome of the trial, part morality tale about the true meaning of kindness in life, and part fascinating historical education, this book will be a delight for fans of the original Dicken's book as well as for those who have never read it, and can thus approach this book on its own terms. This novel cleverly encourages readers not only to reevaluate Scrooge, but also inspires us to rethink the critical judgments that we often make too easily of others. This is a book that stays with you long after you read it. Scrooge reminds us that there are many ways to be the best person we can, and as many ways to bring out the best in those we care about.

A book for the holidays, if you're a little bit wicked. The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge recounts Scrooge's attempt to get out of Purgatory, with Tiny Tim as his lawyer! If you've got an economics or political history bent, or if you're an English lit major, a Dickens fan, or just stuck with a smartass sense of humor, you will enjoy this one.(Caveat, a lot of adjectives, but, then the same might be said for Dickens, the dickens!)

Buttercup sings to the Captain of HMS Pinafore, "Things are seldom what they seem, Skim milk masquerades as cream." This is what Bruce Bueno de Mesquita would have the reader believe about the reviled Ebenezer Scrooge. In a dramatic trial, with Tiny Tim acting for the defense and Professor Blight serving as the righteous prosecutor, the reader in the jury box is asked to reconsider long-held beliefs about the alleged miser and merciless employer immortalized in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. For this page-turner novella, a knowledge of Dickens is helpful but not required. In the end, you decide if Scrooge deserves a place in Heaven, or elsewhere. A perfect Christmas stocking stuffer and a great gift any time of year.

This book takes elements generally considered bedrock of the original--Scrooge's unrepentant stinginess, his unequivocal redemption, and even the angelic benevolence of Tiny Tim--and flips them around to reconsider the tale in a new way. Along the way, there's some sly dabbling in Dickens' fictional universe and digressions into Victorian economics that make the book an almost didactic experience. Part courtroom drama, part philosophical debate, Professor Bueno De Mesquita has crafted a sharp-witted coda to Dickens' ghostly little book.

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge challenges our presumption of Dickens' classic tale, "A Christmas Carol". Was Scrooge really a friendless miser? Set as a Faustian trial, Tiny Tim must prove before a court of the Almighty that Scrooge's soul is worthy of entry into heaven. Set against our prejudices, and a court room of Scrooge's detractors, Tiny Tim composes a defense based on primarily on Dickens' own words, supplemented with contemporary evidence from Christmas 1843. With perhaps overtones towards governance, Prof. Bueno de Mesquita -who is a distinguished political scientist-- questions whether conspicuous generosity to some at the expense of others is superior to even handed meanness. As the story unfolds Scrooge's salvation remains perilously balanced with threats always emerging from unsuspecting quarters.
Although the Dickensian style is somewhat ponderous, this is a fascinating tale that confronts our understanding of righteousness. It is well worth a read.

The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge is a perfect Christmas read. Dickens and Tiny Tim are villains and you really believe they are. Scrooge turns out to be a great guy, and Eppie -- well you'll love her. The author makes them all sound straight out of Dickens almost as if Dickens himself wrote the book. Really worth getting!