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A Christmas Overture: How Ebenezer Became Scrooge
Before his astonishing redemption, before he terrorized London's rich and poor alike with his stingy Bahs and caustic Humbugs, Scrooge was Ebenezer.
Who and what shaped this brilliant, haunted boy? Well, they are all here.
From his mercurial father and beloved sister to fanciful Fezziwig and lovely Belle, to good Frederick Scrooge to Jacob Marley himself, witness the infamous miser's origin, in all its Christmassy and sinister glory!
A Christmas Overture, written in the style and spirit of Charles Dickens' legendary A Christmas Carol , covers the years before 'Jacob Marley was dead', with its final section skipping over it to jump to the years following, where we encounter the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge and Big Tim Cratchit.
Who and what shaped this brilliant, haunted boy? Well, they are all here.
From his mercurial father and beloved sister to fanciful Fezziwig and lovely Belle, to good Frederick Scrooge to Jacob Marley himself, witness the infamous miser's origin, in all its Christmassy and sinister glory!
A Christmas Overture, written in the style and spirit of Charles Dickens' legendary A Christmas Carol , covers the years before 'Jacob Marley was dead', with its final section skipping over it to jump to the years following, where we encounter the reformed Ebenezer Scrooge and Big Tim Cratchit.
- GenresChristmas
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2024
22 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 27, 2025
A Lengthy Humbug of Hot Air
A Christmas Overture is meant to be the prequel and epilogue of A Christmas Carol.
The story builds upon the events revealed by the Christmas Spirits in the original but it is so dry and repetitive that it becomes rather dull quickly. And there are interludes in which we see the Spirits fretting over a losing battle to the evil while also the same time crowing about a miracle child who can only be Lil' Tim.
Even though the book is heavy on details to clarify the story, it doesn’t provide really any importance as to these interludes beside to add a religious element that is confusing as well as blasphemous. And at the same time the book tends to overgloss the reason why Tim Cratchit is really the true hero of this tale.
The most impressive regard of the book, though, is that the universe of various Dickens' characters and the original author are all brought together to rub elbows in one universe.
All in all it was a drudgery to read and one I'm glad to put away. For me I will stick with the original though.
A Christmas Overture is meant to be the prequel and epilogue of A Christmas Carol.
The story builds upon the events revealed by the Christmas Spirits in the original but it is so dry and repetitive that it becomes rather dull quickly. And there are interludes in which we see the Spirits fretting over a losing battle to the evil while also the same time crowing about a miracle child who can only be Lil' Tim.
Even though the book is heavy on details to clarify the story, it doesn’t provide really any importance as to these interludes beside to add a religious element that is confusing as well as blasphemous. And at the same time the book tends to overgloss the reason why Tim Cratchit is really the true hero of this tale.
The most impressive regard of the book, though, is that the universe of various Dickens' characters and the original author are all brought together to rub elbows in one universe.
All in all it was a drudgery to read and one I'm glad to put away. For me I will stick with the original though.
December 15, 2025
I found this book for free on Amazon via FreeBooksy. Worth 3.5 stars, rounded down.
The story is set before Scrooge meets Marley and finishes with Tiny Tim and beyond. It was interesting to see how his life evolved since he was a kid, what happened with Bella, and Fred, of course. Some pretty description of buildings, people, relationships, etc. When it came to the ghosts interlude, most of the time, I didn't know what they were talking about and the language was a bit weird too, which didn't help me. Scrooge and Marley are cold business men. I'm with Fezziwig on business acumen but it didn't help him in the end. Editing: Confusion between plural and possession, at least 3 times.
The story is set before Scrooge meets Marley and finishes with Tiny Tim and beyond. It was interesting to see how his life evolved since he was a kid, what happened with Bella, and Fred, of course. Some pretty description of buildings, people, relationships, etc. When it came to the ghosts interlude, most of the time, I didn't know what they were talking about and the language was a bit weird too, which didn't help me. Scrooge and Marley are cold business men. I'm with Fezziwig on business acumen but it didn't help him in the end. Editing: Confusion between plural and possession, at least 3 times.
November 25, 2025
HUMBUG!
This is really an interesting take on how Scrooge developed such a hard heart, becoming a cold, self-centered, and greedy character who wasted his life. He was leaning towards that direction, but his connection with Marley pushed him over the edge… Humbug!
This is really an interesting take on how Scrooge developed such a hard heart, becoming a cold, self-centered, and greedy character who wasted his life. He was leaning towards that direction, but his connection with Marley pushed him over the edge… Humbug!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews