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The Complete Christmas Books and Stories
This book,
newly updated
, contains now several HTML tables of contents that will make reading a real pleasure!
The first table of contents (at the very beginning of the ebook) lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC that lists all the chapters and sub-chapters of that specific work.
Here you will find all the Christmas books and stories written by Dickens.
The Christmas Books:
- A Christmas Carol
- The Chimes
- The Cricket on the Hearth
- The Battle of Life
- The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
The Christmas Stories:
- A Christmas Tree
- What Christmas is as we Grow Older
- The Poor Relation's Story
- The Child's Story
- The Schoolboy's Story
- Nobody's Story
- The Seven Poor Travellers
- The Holly-Tree
- Wreck of the Golden Mary
- The Perils of Certain English Prisoners
- Going into Society
- A Message From the Sea
- Tom Tiddler's Ground
- Somebody's Luggage
- Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings
- Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy
- Doctor Marigold
- Mugby Junction
- No Thoroughfare
The first table of contents (at the very beginning of the ebook) lists the titles of all novels included in this volume. By clicking on one of those titles you will be redirected to the beginning of that work, where you'll find a new TOC that lists all the chapters and sub-chapters of that specific work.
Here you will find all the Christmas books and stories written by Dickens.
The Christmas Books:
- A Christmas Carol
- The Chimes
- The Cricket on the Hearth
- The Battle of Life
- The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
The Christmas Stories:
- A Christmas Tree
- What Christmas is as we Grow Older
- The Poor Relation's Story
- The Child's Story
- The Schoolboy's Story
- Nobody's Story
- The Seven Poor Travellers
- The Holly-Tree
- Wreck of the Golden Mary
- The Perils of Certain English Prisoners
- Going into Society
- A Message From the Sea
- Tom Tiddler's Ground
- Somebody's Luggage
- Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings
- Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy
- Doctor Marigold
- Mugby Junction
- No Thoroughfare
569 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 18, 2020
553 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
Charles Dickens
12.7k books31.4k followersCharles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
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February 12, 2024Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.
These days, if we replace "Marley" with "Christmas", we are closer to the truth than Scrooge was when he claimed that his partner was dead.
Western Christmas traditions have their origins in the ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia and the Germanic winter festivals of Yule.
During the Yule festival, the Germanic and Nordic peoples celebrated the Winter Solstice (when the Sun reaches its greatest angular distance in relation to the plane passing through the equator and consequently the shortest day of the year in sunlight), which occurs around December 21st and that today is the first official day of winter; the Winter Solstice.
People went to the temple, made sacrifices and with that blood the "priest" sprinkled the altar, the poles of the temple and the worshipers where the person was literally "washed by the blood" (the Catholic holy water anyone?), followed by banquets and narrations of real or fantasy stories around a community bonfire. In the Grettis Saga, Yule is described as a time of "the greatest rejoicing and gladness among men". This was also a time for taking oaths, doing business, and arranging marriages.
In the Roman Saturnalia, also held on the winter solstice, we find in its celebrations the source of many of the traditions that we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, parties and gifts. During Saturnalia, work and business stopped, people, decorated their homes with garlands and other plants and exchanged traditional togas for more colourful clothes.
Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia playing games, singing, playing music, feasting, socializing, and giving each other gifts. Wax candles called "cerei" were common gifts and meant the return of light after the solstice (the "darkest" day of the year). On the last day of the Saturnalia celebrations, many Romans would give their friends and loved ones small terracotta figurines known as "signillaria", whose meaning was rooted in even more ancient celebrations involving human sacrifice.
For most of the world today, the onset of winter along with Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations. This is supposed to be a special day meant to celebrate and give thanks for all the good things we have in life and to share that celebration with our fellow human beings. And so, it is ironic that the day after saying "thanks", people rush out to take advantage of the last "Black Friday" sales of the year in an unbridled orgy of shopping, most of which are completely useless and destined for recycling (for those who have any conscience) before Christmas of the following year. Where is the goodwill and understanding among the crowds that rush like a herd of cattle, trampling themselves at the doors of the large commercial stores, the new temples of worship? The act of giving has become the greed of acquiring and people prefer to celebrate how much money they can spend in the cult of unbridled and savage materialism.
As with everything else, this is a matter of demand and supply; How much humanity is willing to give up on everything that has real and lasting human values in exchange for how much the market has to offer in superficial, superfluous and ephemeral values, which are dissolved in the spirit like snow under the first rains at the end of winter.
It's the publicity fault, everyone points to ease their guilty conscience. No, it's not advertising or marketing or the government or monstrous international corporations to blame. It's everyone's fault that every day we prefer "to do what's easy instead of what's right" and that we distort the real meaning of Christmas in the orgiastic frenzy of the most powerful mentality of selfishness.
Today (2022 nearly 2023), after almost two centuries, "A Christmas Carol" remains, more than ever, relevant, sending a message that tries to break the materialistic traps of human degradation and light a candle of hope that illuminates the heart and soul.
As long as there are those who read this tale, the hope of a better world will not die.
P.S.
At this point, if someone is sneering while uttering the word "communist", please check with your Health and Care Centre; I'm sure they have psychiatric help available.
P.P.S.
I'm not a catholic or even a religious person.
These days, if we replace "Marley" with "Christmas", we are closer to the truth than Scrooge was when he claimed that his partner was dead.
Western Christmas traditions have their origins in the ancient Roman festivals of Saturnalia and the Germanic winter festivals of Yule.
During the Yule festival, the Germanic and Nordic peoples celebrated the Winter Solstice (when the Sun reaches its greatest angular distance in relation to the plane passing through the equator and consequently the shortest day of the year in sunlight), which occurs around December 21st and that today is the first official day of winter; the Winter Solstice.
People went to the temple, made sacrifices and with that blood the "priest" sprinkled the altar, the poles of the temple and the worshipers where the person was literally "washed by the blood" (the Catholic holy water anyone?), followed by banquets and narrations of real or fantasy stories around a community bonfire. In the Grettis Saga, Yule is described as a time of "the greatest rejoicing and gladness among men". This was also a time for taking oaths, doing business, and arranging marriages.
In the Roman Saturnalia, also held on the winter solstice, we find in its celebrations the source of many of the traditions that we now associate with Christmas, such as wreaths, candles, parties and gifts. During Saturnalia, work and business stopped, people, decorated their homes with garlands and other plants and exchanged traditional togas for more colourful clothes.
Instead of working, Romans spent Saturnalia playing games, singing, playing music, feasting, socializing, and giving each other gifts. Wax candles called "cerei" were common gifts and meant the return of light after the solstice (the "darkest" day of the year). On the last day of the Saturnalia celebrations, many Romans would give their friends and loved ones small terracotta figurines known as "signillaria", whose meaning was rooted in even more ancient celebrations involving human sacrifice.
For most of the world today, the onset of winter along with Thanksgiving marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations. This is supposed to be a special day meant to celebrate and give thanks for all the good things we have in life and to share that celebration with our fellow human beings. And so, it is ironic that the day after saying "thanks", people rush out to take advantage of the last "Black Friday" sales of the year in an unbridled orgy of shopping, most of which are completely useless and destined for recycling (for those who have any conscience) before Christmas of the following year. Where is the goodwill and understanding among the crowds that rush like a herd of cattle, trampling themselves at the doors of the large commercial stores, the new temples of worship? The act of giving has become the greed of acquiring and people prefer to celebrate how much money they can spend in the cult of unbridled and savage materialism.
As with everything else, this is a matter of demand and supply; How much humanity is willing to give up on everything that has real and lasting human values in exchange for how much the market has to offer in superficial, superfluous and ephemeral values, which are dissolved in the spirit like snow under the first rains at the end of winter.
It's the publicity fault, everyone points to ease their guilty conscience. No, it's not advertising or marketing or the government or monstrous international corporations to blame. It's everyone's fault that every day we prefer "to do what's easy instead of what's right" and that we distort the real meaning of Christmas in the orgiastic frenzy of the most powerful mentality of selfishness.
Today (2022 nearly 2023), after almost two centuries, "A Christmas Carol" remains, more than ever, relevant, sending a message that tries to break the materialistic traps of human degradation and light a candle of hope that illuminates the heart and soul.
As long as there are those who read this tale, the hope of a better world will not die.
P.S.
At this point, if someone is sneering while uttering the word "communist", please check with your Health and Care Centre; I'm sure they have psychiatric help available.
P.P.S.
I'm not a catholic or even a religious person.
December 22, 2020
Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime. -Charles Dickens
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Reading (all) The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens was such a good idea. He has a knack for capturing time in a bottle. I highly recommend him during each holiday season but I’ve found a new respect for him. Christmas wouldn’t be the same for me without out all the various Christmas stories I’ve come to love, and a lot of those stories I actually have Charles Dickens to thank for! He inspired a lot of their kind! Thanks Charles Dickens!!
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Reading (all) The Christmas Books by Charles Dickens was such a good idea. He has a knack for capturing time in a bottle. I highly recommend him during each holiday season but I’ve found a new respect for him. Christmas wouldn’t be the same for me without out all the various Christmas stories I’ve come to love, and a lot of those stories I actually have Charles Dickens to thank for! He inspired a lot of their kind! Thanks Charles Dickens!!
December 23, 2020
Only my second reading of A Christmas Carol. So moving, sobering and fun. I also read a few of the other short stories, but being quite a large book, I shall come back to read some more next Christmas.
July 18, 2023
I'm glad I downloaded this book because there are some stories I had not read before. Not all of them are Christmas stories.
November 5, 2025
This is one of the Christmas books I enjoyed so far.
December 27, 2022
This dark book was difficult to read at times. But I muddled through and I'm glad I did.
May 17, 2019
Tenía muchísimas ganas de empezarlo y es el que me ha llevado a tener un bloqueo lector tremendo. Me gustó mucho el relato de Canción de Navidad, pues Scrooge fue recurrente en mi infancia, pero el resto (Las Campanas - El grillo del hogar - La batalla de la vida - El hechizado) me han quitado toda gana de volver a leer a Dickens. Aunque le daré otra oportunidad en algún otro momento. Me ha parecido una prosa totalmente atropellada y sinsentido muchísimas veces, me hacía perder el hilo la mayor parte del tiempo. No sé si es la traducción o qué podría ser... Párrafos tremendos sin una sola coma, cambios muy bruscos de escenas, personajes... En fin, soy incapaz de dejar un libro a medias, así que por fin lo he terminado.
December 10, 2018
Dickens is pretty difficult to read. I really had to concentrate to follow the story lines. Dickens was really caught up in Christmas ghost tales. And must have been very depressed at Christmas time as his Christmas stories all are somewhat dark and brooding. I’m glad I read it but certainly would not read it again. I’ll stay with watching A Christmas Carol on tv every year,
December 13, 2017
Good read
This book is a good read for the Christmas seasons. A real page turner from start to finish. You won't be disappointed.
This book is a good read for the Christmas seasons. A real page turner from start to finish. You won't be disappointed.
Read
February 13, 2023"I'm finished" and 100% mean I completely read the story I planned to read (A Christmas Carol), not the whole book.
March 3, 2019
it was okay i realized had read before
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews