As uplifting as the tale of Scrooge itself, this is the story of how one writer and one book revived the signal holiday of the Western world.
Just before Christmas in 1843, a debt-ridden and dispirited Charles Dickens wrote a small book he hoped would keep his creditors at bay. His publisher turned it down, so Dickens used what little money he had to put out A Christmas Carol himself. He worried it might be the end of his career as a novelist.
The book immediately caused a sensation. And it breathed new life into a holiday that had fallen into disfavor, undermined by lingering Puritanism and the cold modernity of the Industrial Revolution. It was a harsh and dreary age, in desperate need of spiritual renewal, ready to embrace a book that ended with blessings for one and all.
With warmth, wit, and an infusion of Christmas cheer, Les Standiford whisks us back to Victorian England, its most beloved storyteller, and the birth of the Christmas we know best. The Man Who Invented Christmas is a rich and satisfying read for Scrooges and sentimentalists alike.
莱斯•斯坦迪福德，美国历史学家、作家。曾经荣获B&N书店发现新伟大作家奖、弗兰克•奥康纳奖之最佳短篇小说奖、美国国家艺术基金会小说类学术奖金等。自1985年起，在公立佛罗里达国际大学设立创意写作项目，并担任项目的主要负责人。目前是美国作家与写作项目联合会、美国推理作家协会（MWA）和美国作家协会（WGA）的成员。至今共出版过21本书，其中包括多部备受赞誉的非虚构类历史题材作品和一系列推理/惊悚小说。