In 1843, Charles Dickens has a pregnant wife and a wastrel father, and his most recent book, the ill-received Martin Chuzzlewit, has left the London writer with dwindling funds and few ideas. Meanwhile, Dickens's friend and supporter Thomas Carlyle obtains for him a chance to speak before Parliament to address the terrible conditions of London's multitude of impoverished workers. A well-educated but penniless lad, Benjamin Newborn, hears his beloved author's impassioned speech, and will figure prominently in Dickens's financial and literary future. But for now the hero puzzles over how to save his family from creditors. Inspired by a desire to make Christmas the joyous occasion it had been in the Merrie England of old, Dickens dreams up a tale that makes his political and social points as well. He approaches his publishers, Squibb and Ledrock, with a risky and brash proposalAhe'll own the book, and pay all the bills, but it must be published before December 17 so that it can sell for Christmas. The greedy publishers, tired of carrying Dickens, embark on a brilliantly underhanded plot to steal ownership of the book, which they know to be a masterpiece. Newborn, the prime minister and a host of bobbies all have a hand in saving Dickens from ruin. This first novel is assured, sprightly and well-conceived, aptly depicting the conditions under which different social classes lived in 19th-century England, and vividly portraying the personality of the mercurial and headstrong Dickens. Though we're told that it's based on a true story, readers won't know exactly what is fictionalized and what is historical in this tale; however, the plot, setting and characterizations all make it a stocking-stuffer par excellence . (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Poor Charley Dickens! Things are not going well for him as he turns 30. His close friend and fellow club member, the eminent historian Thomas Carlyle, enjoys Charley's windy hokum as a journalist but thinks he has no future in literature; besides, hes living above his means, especially with four children and a fifth on the way. Charley's venomous, bloodsucking father, John Dickens (no Micawber he), hits on his sons empty pockets and whines about falling into debtor's prison. Charley's wife, Catherine, who keeps the family's books, doesn't have the heart to tell him before their dinner of moldy potatoes, stale bread, and stretched mutton that the bills can't be met. Royalties are overdue from his publisher, Ledrook and Squib, Charley declares, but when he goes to see Squib he's told that, well, in Hollywood terms, he's lost his edge. Theres only one problem with his books, Squib tells him: ``They don't sell. They haven't sold in a year. They are dead. There are no royaltiesin fact, his publishers have been carrying him. So when Charley comes to them with the tale of a miser's regeneration, which he plans to write in six weeks and then have on the streets by mid-December for Christmas sales, Ledrook and Squib pretend skepticism. Why? Because they really think the story pure gold., but Charley wants to own it. And so it goes with Davis's realistic, immensely enjoyable version of how Charley wrote A Christmas Carol. A much better book than another Christmas tale Dickens penned about this time (see The Life of Our Lord, below). -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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