A Christmas Carol: A Robert Ingpen Illustrated Classic

Charles Dickens

Welbeck Publishing Group Limited, Aug 15, 2023 - Juvenile Fiction - 192 pages

This classic seasonal tale of self-discovery has become one of Charles Dickens's most famous and best-loved works.

On Christmas Eve, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley, who warns him that he will be visited by three spirits. During the night, the ghosts of Christmas Past, Christmas Present and Christmas Yet to Come show Scrooge the scenes of his youth, the poverty-stricken Christmas currently being endured by his loyal clerk Bob Cratchitt and his crippled son Tiny Tim - and the lonely future that awaits him if he continues in his grasping ways. He awakes on Christmas morning chastened by his nocturnal experiences, and resolves to be a better man.

This volume also includes Dickens's short story, A Christmas Tree, with its evocative description of the delights of the season, which provides perfect fireside reading once the gifts are unwrapped.

With stunning, atmospheric illustrations that evoke Dickensian London at Christmas time, award-winning artist Robert Ingpen has worked his wonders on this timeless tale.

About the author

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. ROBERT INGPEN was born in 1936 in Geelong, Australia. He studied illustration art and book design at The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. In 1986 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his contribution to children's literature and has been honored with Membership of the Order of Australia. A world-renowned artist and author, he has designed, illustrated and written over 100 books. This series of classic works illustrated by Robert includes Treasure Island, Peter Pan and Wendy, The Jungle Book, The Wind in the Willows and A Christmas Carol. Robert lives and works in Anglesea, near his home town of Geelong, Australia.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Christmas Carol: A Robert Ingpen Illustrated Classic; Robert Ingpen Illustrated Classics Series
• Author: Charles Dickens
• Illustrated by: Robert Ingpen
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Welbeck Publishing Group Limited, 2023
• ISBN: 0955304644, 9780955304644
• Length: 192 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Fiction / Classics; Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Celebrations / Christmas & Advent