Charles Dickens greatly influenced the shaping of Christmas as we know it today. In his early work, Pickwick Papers, he sets out a splendidly homely, family and friends gathering to party together. Then came the International classic 'A Christmas Carol', followed by four lesser known, but still important Christmas stories. The great man also wrote numerous other Christmas stories. Not surprising, the earliest terming of the phrase 'Merry Christmas' was coined in (yes you've guessed it) A Christmas Carol. The collection of photographs below hints at the range and power of these writings; click on them to see the detail- my favourites include the second one, which shows Ghost of Christmas Future talking to Scrooge. George C Scott's interpretation is legendary, but then, Alistair Sim was splendid, and who doesn't love the Muppets (apart from my grandson)?! Countless productions have kept Dickensian values alive and still thriving.
