Cover of A Christmas Carol
Gaslamp & Victorian FantasyGhost StoriesHorror

A Christmas Carol

by

  • 1843 first published
  • 114 pages
  • ★ 4.0 (117 ratings)
  • 3,196 editions
  • 🎧 3 h 11 min free audiobook
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Published in 1843, A Christmas Carol is a gaslamp fantasy and ghost story play by Charles Dickens. It takes readers to Great Britain and England in the 19th century. Characters include Charles Dickens (1812-1870), Hesba Stretton (1832-1911) and Ebenezer Scrooge. Readers will find themes of christmas, Drama, ghosts and Histoires de Noël.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.0 out of 5 from 117 ratings, and 758 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 3,196 editions across 22 languages. On Project Gutenberg it was downloaded 3,474 times in the last 30 days.

At about 114 pages, most readers finish it in 2–3 hours. It is in the public domain, so you can read it free on Project Gutenberg or listen to the 3 h 11 min LibriVox audiobook.

About A Christmas Carol

A reprinting of the 1843 first edition, complete with the original illustrations, is supplemented by over eighty related sketches and annotations on and analyses of the text and historical notes on the writing of "The Christmas Carol."
Description from Open Library

Free audiobook

A Christmas Carol — LibriVox recording, 3 h 11 min in 5 sections.

Public-domain recording by volunteer readers. Listen online, download MP3s or stream from the Internet Archive.

Opening line

“Marley was dead, to begin with.”

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Tropes

Setting

Era

Characters

  • Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
  • Hesba Stretton (1832-1911)
  • Ebenezer Scrooge
  • Gustave (1832-1883) Doré
  • Bob Cratchit
  • Tiny Tim
  • Jacob Marley
  • Ghost of Christmas Past
  • Ghost of Christmas Present
  • Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Subjects

  • Children's fiction
  • Christmas
  • Drama
  • Ghosts
  • British and irish fiction, Fictional works by one author
  • London, England
  • Scrooge, Ebenezer
  • Christmas stories
  • Ghost stories
  • Histoires de Noël
  • Histoires de fantômes
  • Romans, nouvelles
  • England
  • Ebenezer Scrooge
  • Social conditions
  • Ghost

Publisher

Quick answers

Who wrote A Christmas Carol?

A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens and first published in 1843.

What genre is A Christmas Carol?

It is usually shelved as Gaslamp & Victorian Fantasy, Ghost Stories, Horror and Victorian-Era Fiction.

How long is A Christmas Carol?

The median edition has 114 pages, about 2–3 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

Is A Christmas Carol free to read?

Yes. It is in the public domain in the United States and can be read free on Project Gutenberg in EPUB, Kindle and HTML formats.

Is there a free audiobook of A Christmas Carol?

Yes — LibriVox volunteers recorded it; the recording runs 3 h 11 min.

What books are similar to A Christmas Carol?

Readers who like it often enjoy The Picture of Dorian Gray, Clockwork Angel and A Wallflower Christmas.

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