A Christmas Carol and Its Adaptations: A Critical Examination of Dickens' Story and Its Productions on Stage, Screen and Television

by Fred Guida

Over 150 years after its original composition, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol continues to delight readers. The figure of Ebenezer Scrooge has become a cultural icon, and Tiny Tim's "God Bless Us Every One" is as familiar as "Merry Christmas." It is not surprising that Dickens' "ghostly little book," as he called it, has proven a popular choice for adaptation by playwrights and screenwriters. In everything from elegant literary treatments to animated musicals, the role of Scrooge has been essayed by actors from George C. Scott to Mr. Magoo. This critical account of the story's history and its various adaptations examines first, the original writing of the story, including its political, economic, and historical context. The major Carol interpretations are analyzed within their various stage, silent film, talkies, and television. Dickens' other, lesser known Christmas stories, like "The Cricket on the Hearth," are also examined and compared to the immortal Carol. Finally, a complete annotated filmography of all film and television productions based on A Christmas Carol is included, with commentary on each version's loyalty to the original text. The text includes a foreword by noted Dickensian scholar Edward Wagenknecht, and a bibliography and index.

Genres: Christmas

264 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 1999

Reviews

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good resource for Christmas Carol and Charles Dickens aficionados like me. It has a very detailed discussion of the Carols' literary roots, and then discusses pre-cinema, silent, talkies, and television versions. It touches on the other Christmas stories that Dickens wrote, and other variations of the tale.
It is very useful as a reference guide, because it contains a filmography that chronologically lists all the known Carols form 1901 to 1998. And that's the only weakness of the book: there have been a lot more variations made since 1998!
The author, Fred Guida, does mention sources that I would love to have a look at myself. I'll be adding a few of these to my Goodreads list, I'm sure.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I have been collecting the different film versions of A Christmas Carol for a couple of years, and this book is a wonderful addition to that little endeavor. Well researched and well presented. It includes a lot of information on Dickens, his work in general, A Christmas Carol, and of course its adaptations. Also included is a little history on silent films, the early motion pictures, and TV.
Quite an enjoyable read overall, and a fantastic subject.

[Joey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one!

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic reference guide through all the adaptations of Dickens' Christmas classic-- well, almost all. I would love a second edition that includes the versions made since 1998.

[Lark of The Bookwyrm's Hoard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published on Amazon.com. You can read more of my reviews on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

Everyone has a favorite film or television version of Dickens beloved A Christmas Carol. But few of us have any idea how very many adaptations there have been. Mr. Guida's wonderful book examines first the written Carol, then goes on to detail some of the hundreds of adaptations and variations, from the early stage versions and magic lantern slides to modern made-for-television Carols. Mr. Guida discusses the major Carols with wit and humor as well as rare discernment: his love for his subject is evident. Minor Carols and variations are also covered, albeit more briefly. If you cannot find your favorite version in the text, you are sure to find it in the superb and very thorough filmography. The filmography is worth browsing in and of itself; did you know that there have been Western, country-western, rock-and-roll, and even science-fiction variations on A Christmas Carol? Or that actors as disparate as Cicely Tyson, Basil Rathbone, and Mr. Magoo have all played Scrooge? If you love A Christmas Carol or simply dote on film trivia, I promise you will enjoy this book.


Full disclosure: I was privileged to create the index for this book. I don't normally review books I've indexed (in order to avoid conflict of interest), but I wrote this review for Amazon (with Mr. Guida's consent, though without his input) well before I became a book blogger -- in 1999, as a matter of fact. The honest truth is that I would have enjoyed reading and browsing the book even if I hadn't worked on the index.

[Daniel]

Wonderful survey.