A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens (1812–1870).
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas.
London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. (BRA0832)

Given perennial interest in this story and its various theatrical, cinematic, and televised offshoots, no work of nineteenth-century English literature remains as widely popular and recognized as A Christmas Carol. Dickens expended enormous effort to make the book appealing to prospective buyers. The title was printed in two colors, John Leech’s four etchings were hand-colored in every copy, and each volume was bound in cloth with gilt cover, spine, and edges. The first edition of six thousand copies sold out in a few days and several more impressions were soon printed. It appears that the Sellers copy is from the first issue.

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Literature
A Christmas Carol