Surprisingly, neither of the two copies was in a very good condition. Two copies of the first edition were sold in an auction in 2005 for the price of 15,000 USD. As expected pricing for first editions of this famous book is no bargain. By May of 1844 the book was already in its 7 th edition, with increasing demand from the United States and receiving great reviews in the New York Times.įor a book collector, the first edition of the book is the ultimate possession to seek after.

The 6000 copies of the first edition actually ran out by Christmas Eve. The book was priced at a scant 5 shillings, and was a raging success. The published book was an object of beauty, as it was bound in red cloth and filled with illustrations by John Leech. Despite numerous obstacles with the book’s publication process, it was completed two days prior to its scheduled release date of December 19, 1943. Dickens hoped to rekindle the true Christmas spirit through the novel, with the portrayal of the cynical and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge and the changes he transitioned from in Christmases of his past, present and future.ĭickens started writing the novel, A Christmas Carol, in October 1843 and within six weeks, it was completed. The book was written during depressing times in England, where the Christmas spirit had nearly been forgotten by many. The famous novella A Christmas Carol was first published by Chapman and Hall on December 19 th 1843. From 1833 all the way up to his death on June 9, 1870, Dickens wrote a great deal of novels and saw most of his works get published.

As a result he strove to make the injustice of these unacceptable and inhuman working conditions clear through his work to inspire the change towards a better working life.Ĭharles Dickens wrote his first story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk, in 1833 which he soon followed with Oliver Twist between the years 1837-39, Nicholas Nickleby between1838-39, and many others. The harsh and cruel working conditions that Dickens had to face, greatly affected him. However, Dickens soon left school to work 10 hours a day to support his struggling family. Shortly afterwards, in 1824, the family sent the then 12-year old Charles to a boarding house. After facing financial difficulties Dickens’ family moved to London in 1822. Charles Dickens was born at Landport, UK, on February 7 th, 1812. Very few people on this planet have never heard of the renowned Charles Dickens or of his A Christmas Carol. This immortal novel written by Charles Dickens is easily one of the most loved Christmas stories ever written, while the scarcity of its first edition has given some fortunate book collectors a holiday to celebrate. What do Christmas and rare vintage books have in common? The answer is …the famous first edition of the Charles Dickens book – A Christmas Carol.

A christmas carol first edition